Sea of Turmoil
by Sithicus
Summary: Our hero needs a break he has to rediscover purpose in life, and what better place to do that then in good old Los Angeles California, where Super Heroes and Super Villains don't come around very often...Continue the adventures of Alain DesrochersAllan Ru
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** This is the fourth part of my Crisis on Earth 929 section of Chrysalis, a story which details the exploits and adventures of Alain Desrochers who is currently trapped in the Omniverse undergoing training for a purpose he is still unclear on, although he knows it involves God and Demons of some kind.  
Currently he has been detoured to Earth 929 by Roma to assist in solving a crisis of chaotic magnitude; so far he has tangled with four members of the Brotherhood, the Shadow King, the Red Skull, Venom and Carnage as well as encountering a host of heroes and becoming fast friends with several members of the X-Men and to a lesser extent Peter Parker AKA The Amazing Spider-Man. His guilty conscious however has overtaken him and now he finds himself preparing to take a leave of absence from Roma's mission, he needs time to sort things out and get over his killing of both Red Skull and Cletus Kasidy, all of which is exploited in the stories titled Of Spiders and Mutants, Avenger's Assemble and Rampage in NYC. Now Alain Desrochers going under the assumed name of Allan Rutherford on this Earth is going to get some much needed rest; and his soul will be lightened of it's burden here in the story aptly titled Sea of Turmoil... And who knows maybe his slowly blossoming romance with the X-Man Rogue may heat up with a passion.

The disclaimer is as follows; I do not own any of the characters in this story except Allan/Alain and his daughter Amy, I make no claims to own them and have not written this out of a desire to profit from them. I simply borrowed the characters to play with them; ultimately all characters in this story are the property of Marvel or Hasbro Inc.; and I thank them all for creating such wonderful characters, and so without further ado I present Chapter One of Sea of Turmoil...

* * *

Prologue

I had left the mansion; now I was hovering above the state of New York deeply troubled by the recent events in my life. The X-Men had proven concerned for my decision; though I couldn't very well blame them, but I just couldn't remain here any longer. I needed a place to heal my soul; alleviate the guilt I felt at allowing myself to begin this process once more, killing should only be for defense and only when there was no other choice. Death was all too easy to dole out when you fought as a warrior of the ancient world; I wondered if Xena had to deal with these kinds of problems, considering her soul was constantly being reincarnated. Still; where could I go? I had no actual idea on what I should do; and to top it all off a storm front was coming in off the coastline, I was overwhelmed by it.  
Dark swelling clouds that looked less peaceful up close surrounded me; and it became very humid up here the heat surprised me, but then again I knew nothing of meteorological phenomena. I took this opportunity to recharge; absorbing bursts of lightning like a sponge and marveling how well I felt. I allowed the storm to carry me along for the ride; using my mastery of gravity to create a pocket of zero G around me, thus I could be pushed along like a leaf in the wind. It wasn't as taxing as exerting the control necessary for propulsion of my own and also saved me the trouble of tracking my course. The storm lasted a surprisingly long time and a good two and a half hours after it had formed the storm dissipated; I found myself over unfamiliar territory, which wouldn't have been much of a problem if not for the three F-Fifteen's heading directly my way.  
Now this in and of itself wasn't a large problem; for all I knew they could have been out on maneuvers. However in the Marvel universe; or as this was, one of it's counterparts I should have known better. I called out to them at close range thinking to speak with one of the pilots; it was only then, now that they were much closer, that I noticed the decidedly unmilitary paint jobs their fuselage sported. Black and purple launched twin cluster missiles at me; fortunately for me blue and black roared past causing a horrible thundering assault, which destabilized the missiles gyros causing premature detonation and really set my teeth on edge. Red, blue and light grey; however, took a different approach by inverting on his axis into a horizontal position and firing twin beams of violet energy.  
A normal human would have been vaporized; then again a normal human would also not be roughly thirty thousand feet in the air without a plane of his own. The nature of those energy beams was well known to me; upon coming in contact with them every nanoprobe in my body froze up and I remained a split second longer in the air before plunging as dead weight. Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker; for that was who the jets actually were, disappeared on the horizon barely registering the incident with typical Decepticon nature. My last conscious thought was a call to the Professor; a very loud and frightened call, hoping that he could, if not outright halt my descent… At least find some way to slow it down so that I would not be killed upon impact and leave a whole lot of questions for whoever found me.

Crisis on Earth 929  
Sea of Turmoil

* * *

Despite what anyone might tell you regaining consciousness rarely involves shouting out weird half phrases; or involves waking up in glamorous settings with friends and loved ones. This particular time I felt battered and bruised in every part of my body; there was a painful tingling as the effects of the null ray wore off and I think three molars had fallen out, either that or I had rocks in my mouth. My call to Xavier must have been worth it because no bones were broken; and judging by the impact crater I'd hit relatively slowly. Being dead weight however would have meant I'd still hit hard; my current surroundings appeared to be a quaint looking garden. Personal property then; good I could take five and finish internal repairs, so to speak, closing my eyes I let the word fall away and entered a restive state.

* * *

The young eleven year old girl stumbled upon the man a few minutes later in surprise; she shrieked startled by his appearance there and three of her friends rushed over.

"What's wrong Krissie?" The eight year old Vietnamese child asked.

"Who's that?" The first blonde wondered as the second knelt beside him; twisting her bandana back so she could see better, all four girls were wearing relatively regular looking outfits. Although one of them had on a Tee-Shirt with the band Jem and the Holograms printed on it.

"I don't know Ashley." Krissie replied her initial shock and fear replaced with concern and curiosity. "Ba Nee don't get too close." She exclaimed as the youngest of the group knelt beside the man and began rummaging around in his pockets.

"I'm just looking for identity." She returned brushing aside a strand of her long luxuriant black hair; the other unnamed blonde reached for her, but Ba Nee pulled away.

"We really shouldn't be looking through a strangers' pockets." She chastised; Ba Nee ignored her; a look of determination on her face.

"We can't help him if we don't know who he is Deidre." She surmised finally managing to free the errant wallet from the back pants pocket and flipping it open to the driver's license. "Allan Rutherford." She read aloud.

"Sounds' important." Krissie observed with a calm expression; Ashley impatiently stood to one side wondering why the man was in their back yard, he could very well be a stalker for one of the band.

"Fourteen Zero Seven Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center; in Westchester County, New York." Ba Nee stated reading the address off of the man's driver's license, which strangely enough featured a picture that looked very unprofessional.

"Wow, he's pretty far from home." Ashley chimed her fears seemingly proven; she hated stalkers, they always gushed after one of the Holograms until the police got involved. "So just why's he in our back yard?" She demanded bitterly.

"Look at all those bruises; he's hurt!" Krissie exclaimed suddenly noticing the injuries running down the left arm; Deidre rose from her crouched position, which was giving her some bad cramps in her knees.

"I'll go get Jerrica; she'll know what to do." She offered turning and sprinting back for the house, which was sitting prominently in the background; the others decided to get a little closer to watch over this strange arrival. Ba Nee returned the man's wallet and sat down in the grass crossing her arms over her knees; thus she was the first to spot the sunken imprint in the grass.

"Hey… How'd that happen?" She wondered attracting the others' attentions.

"What?" Ashley wondered moving as close as she dared to; the sight that met her was even more mysterious, even more so if she'd bothered to notice some of the bruises seemingly vanishing as the man's internal repairs continued.

"He left a… Well I guess it's a dent, in the ground." Ba Nee stated sounding as innocent as could be; Krissie examined it carefully and suddenly scooted back fear on her face.

"Only someone falling out of the sky does that; he must be dead." She whispered in sorrow and anguish; she never liked death, it was just so final.

"He's still breathing dummy." Ashley pointed out at the gentle rise and fall of the man's chest; Ba Nee shot her a scalding look and she lowered her head regretfully. "I mean Krissie." She apologized for the rude comment; that's when Deidre returned, Jerrica, Kimber and Aja in tow.

"There is someone here." Aja exclaimed in surprise. "Sorry for doubting you Deidre." She added by way of apology as the older women took their turns examining the young man.

"Should we call the authorities or the ambulance?" Kimber asked turning to her older sister a look of expectancy upon her features.

"We should call where he lives." Ba Nee stated before the head of the household had a chance to even mull over the matter. "He could be lost or in trouble." She pointed out sensibly; Kimber shook her head, it was amazing how the Starlight Girls behaved at times.

"Yes." Jerrica agreed with a smile. "We'll get Rio to help bring him inside and phone them at once before doing anything else. This could all be a cruel joke on his part, but I want to make certain before getting the authorities involved." She explained; turning back to the mansion she beckoned the girls to follow her back inside while Kimber and Aja stayed behind to wait for Rio. If any of them knew how he'd wound up there in the first place they might have been concerned; in fact they also might have reconsidered the whole authorities' angle, but then again Jerrica Benton had always been raised to show equality to everyone unless proven otherwise.

* * *

The phone rang a little after Three PM and Charles Xavier answered promptly; he'd been expecting Al to call eventually, but was surprised when the voice on the other end was a woman's.

"Ah yes, good afternoon Ms. Benton; I am Professor Charles Xavier head of the institute." He returned with a stoic expression.

"Institute?" Jerrica exclaimed suddenly very worried; Xavier smiled at the woman's open thoughts.

"Yes, a school for gifted youngsters; how may I be of service?" He inquired; Jerrica calmed down immediately and pursed her lips wondering how to approach the subject in question.

"A young gentleman… Arrived here earlier this morning and I was afraid he was trying to break in." She explained feeling openly foolish explaining this all to a total stranger, who was smiling at the thoughts he was picking up; Ms. Benton was relatively brimming with emotions at present. "A mister Allan Rutherford." She elaborated for the benefit of a man who knew all to well what had actually occurred.

"Ah yes; he was actually on his way for a few days leave from his teaching job here, when he ran into an unfortunate bit of… Turbulence." Charles revealed smirking at his clever play on words; whoever claimed he was lacking a sense of humor clearly didn't know the man.

"I see then he'll be leaving once he… Regains consciousness." She hazarded uncertain as to his condition; nothing seemed to indicate a lack of consciousness on his part, but she was no medical practitioner.

"Perhaps." Xavier agreed, but knowing Al as well as he did presently… Well the young man was from an Earth with certain elements that seemed to dictate some of his actions, like his attempt to keep Spider-Man's identity secret. "Or he might request to remain there while he recuperates; you see I'm afraid he's been through quite a lot in recent weeks and he truly had no plans, though I wouldn't count on this too much, still he is a highly unusual young man at times." Xavier elaborated doing his best to read how the young Ms. Benton took this information; it wasn't too difficult, her shock and confusion was apparent.

"Why on Earth would he do that?" She demanded; Xavier couldn't help, but smile at the thought of how Al would so easily turn that phrase around and forget what planet he was on.

"He is quite the extraordinary young man; and he tends to latch onto those who help him out without any thought for his own well being. That's how I got him on as a teacher actually, but as I said I can not read the man's mind, so I have no idea how he'll react upon returning to the land of the waking." Xavier returned in a calming tone; Jerrica nodded on her end and considered his words as best as she could, being on the outside of this entire situation.

"I'm certain we'll be able to handle whatever develops on our end." She admitted with a soft sigh. "Thank you for your help." She added.

"Of course young lady; good bye and good luck… Ah; and thank you also for alerting us to his condition." He stated biding the young women farewell before hanging up; Logan was standing right behind him and he smiled.

"Kilowatt?" He asked; the Professor nodded as he turned to face the shorter man, though you'd never know Xavier was taller due to his condition.

"Yes, apparently he's near Los Angeles at the Starlight Mansion." Xavier informed; Logan's eyes widened in surprise.

"That's a considerable distance; how'd he get all the way out there?" He wondered.

"From what I could determine earlier during our brief mental contact he traveled with a storm front. That is until it dissipated and he ran into a rather unsought for encounter." Charles explained his expression not admitting his severe curiosity at the logistics behind the chances of said encounter.

"Another mutant." Logan surmised with a grunt.

"Three Decepticons actually." Xavier clarified still in awe that the young Technorganic Borg could survive such an encounter; then again after all he'd seen, it really shouldn't have come as such a shock.

"What was he doin' fightin' them?" Logan wondered sounding highly impressed; Xavier knew the scrappy Canadian had always wanted to test his talents against those particular invaders.

"He wasn't; simply a chance encounter." Xavier returned moving towards the window and glancing out at the recovering members of his team; true they had not suffered too many physical injuries, but they all had become quite accustomed to Al's presence. "I hope he knows what he's getting himself into; I hardly think Roma would approve of a vacation at this time."

"Relax Professor; Kilowatt may be many things, but unreliable ain't one of'em." Logan stated moving to join the Professor in watching Jubilee and Kitty help train Illyana for better control. "'Sides, I have a feelin' ol' Roma wants him ta do this." He added with a knowing smile; Charles nodded, he had sensed something amiss during his brief conversation with Ms. Benton, as if something going on over there was more then what it appeared.

* * *

"Well?" Kimber asked unable to contain her curiosity any further; Aja and Rio were equally curious, but far more adept at keeping their feelings inside.

"He's legitimate." Jerrica replied as she lowered the receiver and turned to the others; her lips were still pursed slightly and she appeared deep in thought. "Apparently he's a teacher at this institute for gifted youngsters; he's on vacation."

"A teacher, outrageous." Kimber exclaimed her usual catch phrase having become so accustomed to her she could think of nothing else to say.

"So he'll be leaving us then." Aja stated with definite approval at this notion in her eyes; Jerrica didn't want to repeat what the man, Charles wasn't it? Had said to her concerning this particular individual's eccentricities.

"Most likely." She agreed with a nod though her tone was lacking any sense of conviction and Aja easily picked up on it; Kimber's face fell, just her luck some major hunk of a man seemingly falling from the sky and now he'd be gone before they could get to know him.

"A pity, he's cute." Was all she said though; for fear of being teased mercilessly.

"Where'd you put him?" Jerrica asked suddenly concerned; Aja shrugged.

"Your room for now." She replied. "It was the closest and he's heavier then he looks." She elaborated with a wince as she rolled her shoulder around.

"Well I suppose that should be fine." Jerrica returned preoccupied with other matters; she left the foyer and headed for her home office. "Tell the girls not to disturb him I've got to go over our next tour." She called back before vanishing around the corner.

"She was hiding something again." Rio muttered annoyed; despite certain things he was still hard pressed when it came to those who deceived and lied in his presence.

"We could always ask Synergy, she would have heard everything." Kimber pointed out; at one time she would never have dreamed of mentioning the special computer in Rio's presence, but that was all in the past.

"No, if it's important she'll let us know in her own time; besides it might have something to do with our unannounced guest." Aja returned with a shake of her head; Rio nodded and left the room to go speak with the girls, Aja turned to Kimber. "Cute?" She asked with a sly smile; Kimber's face flushed and she averted her eyes.

* * *

The loud sounds of music awoke me breaking me from the restive stasis-like slumber; I was in a strange bedroom on a four poster bed and feeling significantly better then the last time. Although I was quite surprised not to be in a hospital with cops hanging around considering how it must have appeared to whoever found me. Sitting up I stretched terse muscles and glanced around my surroundings; a relatively non-descript looking bedroom, but obviously belonging to a woman. Hopping off the bed I made my way to the door and was rewarded with a face full of wood; letting out a Cybertronian curse I quickly staunched the flow of blood.

"Oh I'm terribly sorry." A slightly shorter blond haired woman in her mid-twenties or thereabouts exclaimed rushing to see if I was all right.

"That's ok." I stated in a pinched nasally tone. "Helps me remember I'm alive." I added with a chuckle.

"We should really look at that it could be broken." She continued moving over to where a first aid kit was resting; my head was buzzing slightly from the sudden jerking motion those words elicited.

"No really it's ok." I dodged trying to hide the fact that my nose was no longer bleeding and healing rather nicely.

"Quit acting like a child." She scolded pulling out some tissue like substance. "I'm surprised a teacher is behaving in such a fashion." She added finally grabbing my wrist; despite my attempts to the contrary, and pulling my hand away. She froze in obvious surprise as she caught sight of the blood ascending back into the nostril instead of seeping out.

I began to run through many options and explanations shooting each one down in rapid succession, the woman smiled as she returned the kit back to its resting place.

"It's ok Mister Rutherford we are quite open minded in this house; though I must admit I've never played hostess to a mutant before." She remarked in a gentle, understanding tone; I sighed with relief, no sense in revealing everything about me to everyone.

"Thank you." I whispered graciously. "Most people seeing that would have had a hard time adjusting." I added with a small sigh.

"My father raised a very tolerant young woman." She returned with a warm smile. "My name is Jerrica Benton by the way; and you're in Starlight Mansion." She informed introducing herself; I quirked my head to one side scrunching up my brow thoughtfully, both names rang clear warning bells within letting me know that I'd heard them from somewhere before.

"Charmed I'm sure." I returned sub-consciously as I felt an internal buzzing sensation; glancing at my watch face, careful to keep it from Jerrica's line of sight I watched as it switched readouts. A holographic disguise was blocking off half the room from visual observations and I was surprised at the sophistication levels.

"Shall we go downstairs and meet the others?" She wondered smiling. "I'm afraid everyone is most anxious to make your acquaintance." She added apologetically; I shrugged as I indicated she should lead the way out the door.

"Why not; I haven't any immediate plans." I returned slipping past her and pulling the door open. "Ladies first." I insisted.

"How gallant." She returned with a grin; I made a quick focused scan as we left, something kept nagging my memory engrams and I was determined to facilitate remembrance, despite the annoying dizziness that swept over me.

* * *

We came out close to the upper landing and she led me towards the stairs; halfway there an Asian woman with strikingly blue hair and a stunning ensemble of tight designer pants and a matching top joined us.

"Mister Rutherford this is Aja Leith; she lives here as well and is a member of the band Jem and the Holograms." Jerrica introduced; that barreled into me like Astrotrain in locomotive form, unfortunately the shock hit me just as I made my first step downstairs. I jerked, throwing off my balance, twisted my ankle and went sailing over the banister colliding with an antique looking end table. Made all the more embarrassing by the fact that I landed at the feet of two more people; what some might consider a handsome young man with light purple hair, a designer outfit and a very attractive looking young woman with light red hair, an outfit similar in design to Aja's and some features that bore striking resemblance to Jerrica.

"My God, are you all right?" She asked rushing to help me up before her friend could; I considered it a miracle I hadn't broken any bones, but I seemed to recall adjusting gravity during the fall.

"Only my pride." I replied careful to hide the wince of pain as I applied pressure to my twisted ankle. "That and I feel like I should have yelled in typical comical fashion." I added with a mischievous smirk in an attempt to lighten the mood; as if this sort of thing was nothing new, by now Jerrica and Aja had joined us.

"What happened?" Aja wondered amused to note the red head hadn't relinquished my arm from her grip; I let out a tiny exclamation of pain as I turned on my bad ankle, though the flare of agony was already dwindling.

"Jem and the Holograms." I explained with a shrug deftly slipping my arm from her grasp and maneuvering over to the mirror in the hall so I could see if I'd cut myself. "The name took me by complete surprise."

"I take it you've heard of us then." The red head observed with a look of longing in her eyes; I sighed inwardly, but smiled in acknowledgement of her words.

"You could say that." I returned adopting a quizzical look. "So you would be?"

"Kimber Benton; Jerrica's smarter, cuter and very available younger sister." She introduced eagerly clutching at my hand and shaking it boisterously.

"Rio Pacheco." The young man greeted awkwardly trying to get past Kimber to shake my hand in turn; with a gentle gravimetric push I forced Kimber back and took Rio's hand. He squeezed with great force and I returned the gesture smiling as his eyes widened slightly; if he wanted to play the typical dominant male game I was all too happy to oblige. Maneuvering quickly between Kimber and Aja I turned to Jerrica and smiled warmly.

"You most likely hear this all the time, but meeting Jem and the Holograms in person has been a small dream of mine." I admitted with a sheepish smile.

"But you're a teacher, don't you find that rewarding Mister Rutherford?" Kimber wondered.

"A teacher?" I exclaimed clearly taken by surprise. "Oh right… Heh, heh. Yes that can be rewarding; however it isn't as fun as you might think. Take that BAT incident a while back; when you live around New York you never know quite what to expect." I stated with a sigh; that particular incident had not been fun, fortunately I'd failed to catch sight of my burnt and blackened carcass.

"I guess that's why you took this vacation." Aja surmised as we past a few rooms and found ourselves in a spacious living room cluttered with numerous girls of all ages.

"Indeed." I agreed growing decidedly nervous as all eyes fell on me; a young Vietnamese girl approached first and smiled as she brushed her black hair back out of her face; I found myself being reminded of Amy slightly.

"Hi." She greeted as she shifted on her feet nervously; I smiled kindly and knelt down so we'd be at eye level of one another.

"Why hello there; and who might you be?" I asked my whole demeanor changing as I opened myself up into parent mode; the girl smiled wider and giggled slightly at the ease with which I'd accepted her.

"Ba Nee." She stated; I nodded and bowed slightly despite my cramped position, I just couldn't shake this habit of mine.

"An honor to meet you Ba Nee." I stated sincerity clear in my tone. "Quite a brave young girl to meet a total stranger with a smile." I added complimenting the child who beamed with pride and pleasure.

"All of our Starlight Girls are." Jerrica interjected smiling with surprised delight at the way I treated the child; most adults tended not to give children too many credit, they always seemed to either talk down to them or think themselves superior. Having spent the last five years or so in the Twenty-Fourth century and having a daughter of my very own, I knew better; as well I just seemed to have this natural knack with kids.

"And who are they all?" I wondered adopting a more serious adult tone as I climbed back to my full and imposing height. "Quite a lot; I hope I can keep names to faces." I added glancing about at the others who were all silently staring back at me; some with surprised delight like Jerrica, while the younger ones seemed in awe of my physical stature.

"From left to right we have… Joellen, Deidre, Anne, Nancy, Lela, Becky, Terri, Krissie, Marianne, Delaree and Ashley." Jerrica stated shooting each girl a warm and loving smile as she introduced them. "We run this place as a home for orphaned girls." She explained; though of course I already knew that, having come from an alternate reality where they too were a favored pastime for some people. Though of course no one here knew that; so I chose to acknowledge this information with typical Allan Rutherford air.

"I see, a most noble endeavor." I stated bowing my head slightly once again out of habit; spotting a free couch and still somewhat sore from my tumble over the banister, I headed over and sat down. Kimber immediately sat down next to me making moon eyes at me; I sighed inwardly once more, life as a buff almost, though not quite male model type had its disadvantages. Some of the girls giggled; I chose to ignore it and quietly popped my shoulder back into place before returning my gaze to Jerrica. "I must apologize for my unwanted arrival here; it wasn't on the itinerary." I reiterated doing my best not to lose my stride; it was becoming harder to concentrate, glancing at my watch I was surprised to learn I was suffering from a concussion. That fall must have been harder then I thought, but the nanoprobes would deal with this minor nuisance in due time.

"It's not a problem." Jerrica assured with a warm smile.

"Yeah; it's the most excitement we've had since the summer began." Ashley added blushing slightly when Jerrica glanced at her in a semi-stern glare.

"Please don't scold her for speaking her mind; I can remember a time the summer always felt dull to me too." I elucidated with a chuckle; _boy was it that long ago?_ I suddenly felt ancient sitting here; _ah well it could be worse, I could look it too._

"Well I'll go see to dinner; Rio will you be so kind?" Jerrica asked turning to her boyfriend, he smiled and joined her.

"Of course." He replied thoughtfully.

"I should help too." I began moving to rise; Kimber grabbed my arm so fast that I felt the air leaving my lungs when my back collided with the sofa.

"Nonsense you're the guest." She stated heedless of the giggle fest going on. I merely sighed and offered a weak smile; certainly different from the X-Men and I couldn't help, but think I needed this kind of change. Jerrica offered an apologetic smile for her sister and left with Rio; I in turn took the opportunity to study the décor, you could certainly tell that a lot of women lived here. The place really stood out as fashionable and the television set alone was state of the art; as opposed to the more functional one at Xavier's.

"Oh; I just realized I haven't got a clue what state I'm in." I blurted without thinking I might have to come up with a plausible reason for that.

"California." Aja stated oblivious to my apparent lack of knowledge.

"But if you flew here from New York." Ba Nee observed; _out of the mouths of babes._

"The school owns a private jet; we wound up caught in a really bad storm and thrown completely off course." I hastily explained; that was obviously a mistake, because I just remembered I wound up in the back yard when I crashed here.

"So how'd you get in our backyard?" Krissie wondered curiously; I began to rub the back of my neck in my growing nervous habit and wondered what to say to that.

"Ah, well you see…" I trailed off moving to tug at my collar with growing nervous tension; without warning a very strange tone began to ring out causing me to leap off the couch and assume a defensive pose before realizing that my watch was not only making that noise, but it was using a function I'd completely forgotten about incorporating into the design.  
"I should really get this checked." I quipped trying to cover up my embarrassment at overreacting to the alert; some of the girls were eyeing me funnily as was Kimber, but I shook that aside and quickly tapped the tiny button usually reserved for lighting the watch face up in the dark on an ordinary watch. "Rutherford speaking." I stated acknowledging the call.

"Good; that number Q-ball gave us works." Logan's unmistakable tone spoke up from the tiny watch face; his familiar gruff tone bringing a small smile to my features. "Hey Kilowatt you left in such a hurry; the Prof figured you'd need a few essentials. Me and Rogue are outside right now with the Blackbird, so hurry up and get yer luggage bub." He snapped obviously impatient with me; my face fell as soon as I heard Rogue had come, our relationship was still on uncertain terms and I really didn't know what to expect. I knew she had feelings for me, but she was still wary about starting something up with me; I wasn't going to pressure her into anything, but whatever she decided I would support her.

"Yeah, yeah I'm comin' honestly Logan why don't you ever lighten up?" I teased striding towards where I remembered seeing the front door and severing the link before Logan's colorful response could be heard by the impressionable young minds in the room, Kimber, Aja, Ashley, Krissie and Ba Nee curiously followed after me.

* * *

The Blackbird sat on the asphalt of the driveway; its sleek curved appearance and black color scheme really did wonders, the group as a whole let out a gasp upon seeing it. This kind of vehicle was a private jet for a school? It just seemed suspicious and yet miraculous all at the same time; the ramp slid down as soon as the young man approached and a shorter, gruff looking man with wild unkempt looking hair, rather hairy muscular arms and a cigar perched in one corner of his mouth came striding down the steps. He tossed a rather ordinary looking suitcase at the other man who somehow managed to catch it; the girls were clearly impressed, of course they didn't realize that Al had managed to catch it only because he had manipulated gravity.

"Thanks." He grunted sounding less then grateful; a stunning red head woman in a skintight green and yellow jumpsuit followed after the scruffy individual who paused to take a drag from his cigar before eyeing the Starlighters curiously. She had on very long gloves as well for some reason; she eyed the young man uncertainly as she held up the small plastic shopping bag, Al took it seeming a little awkward.

"Your medical tricorder." She whispered to Al; Kimber being the second closest managed to overhear that and eyed him curiously, but didn't say anything. "And a gift from Tony Stark; a self-replenishing solar battery for regeneratin' purposes." She explained; Al smiled at that.

"Tell him thanks for me." He returned in a soft whisper; the woman continued to stare at Al as the awkward moment between them grew, she was nervous and uncertain on how she should do this. But finally she moved in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, which seemed to take him by surprise.

"Keep in touch sugah." She requested; Al lowered his gaze seemingly upset.

"I make no promises; I've got to sort a few things out Rogue." He returned stepping back from and turning to the other man. "Excellent Timing." He mouthed Aja catching him in this act and smiling knowingly, she'd been in those kind of awkward moments herself; especially when she first met Craig's' parents for the first time, Stormer had been there at the time. The man in question grinned his burly arms crossed over his chest; he passed the man a hidden thumbs up and briefly glanced down at Ba Nee seeming to remember something judging by the pained look in his eyes.

"You take care Kilowatt and don't do anythin' I wouldn't do." He stated with a grunt; Al laughed out loud at his words and took a step back as the engines to the jet suddenly roared to life, apparently the woman had made a swift retreat after giving him the small bag. He waved farewell and shot Ba Nee a friendly smile; something that seemed slightly out of character for the tough looking individual, then he rejoined his friend inside the vehicle and the ramp closed behind him.

"Is something wrong?" Al suddenly asked seeming to pick up on the strange silence the others had watched this scene with.

"That's a very strange private jet." Aja pointed out; Al chuckled as the engines roared even louder and the vehicle took off into the sky rather suddenly.

"We have a deal with Tony Stark; he gave us the prototype, or so I was told when I came on staff. Apparently it was a donation, but I think it was just a way to make another convenient tax write off." He returned smoothly; that made some sense, at least the way he'd phrased it, but Krissie still looked a little suspicious. She didn't say anything though as Al hefted his suitcase up onto his shoulder and eyed Kimber thoughtfully. "Any where I can stow this?" He wondered.

"Oh of course; you can store that in one of the unused guest rooms." She returned smiling hungrily at the thought of this man perhaps staying longer then one night. "Ba Nee please show Mister Rutherford to a room." Kimber requested; she seemed to suddenly remember that kiss and her expression fell a little as she allowed Aja to lead her back inside. "Do you think that was his girlfriend?" She whispered hopefully.

"I don't really know Kimber, but was there anything strange about those two?" Aja wondered in return; Kimber eyed her confusedly. "They didn't exactly look like teachers." She pointed out; Kimber shook the suspicion aside and laughed lightly.

"Oh come off it Aja, he's a teacher in a private school; who knows what kind of strange people they hire there." She scoffed; after the two of them vanished back into the house Al turned to Ba Nee with a very friendly smile, but the young eight year old could clearly see a deep loss in his eyes.

"Well then, lead the way little…" He began indicating the mansion; he trailed off as if realizing he'd been about to say something that shouldn't have been said for some reason. Ba Nee grinned deciding to ignore the sense of sorrow she was easily picking up and quickly led the way, Ashley and Krissie following after the both of them.

"Who exactly was that man?" Ashley wondered striking up a conversation in an attempt to get rid of the awkward silence.

"Gym instructor." Al replied though he seemed slightly disgusted with himself; perhaps because to Ashley, Ba Nee and Krissie it was obvious that he was lying about being a teacher. They didn't know why he was lying to them, but they knew it had to be for a good reason; probably for their own protection from some kind of threat. The rest of the journey through the house was had in silence; Al seemed to not want to have to lie to them any more and he was more interested in studying his new surroundings. Ba Nee paused in the hallway and glanced at some of the doors; most of these rooms belonged to the Starlight girls, she didn't know which one was considered a guest room. Considering most of the actual guest rooms were in the old servants quarters, which had been renovated a few years ago after a particularly nasty attempt at breaking into the mansion; finally she decided upon the room beside Anne's and across from Ashley's.

"Here you go." She stated as boisterously as she could muster as she realized that after tonight the young man who had become a pleasant diversion from the usual boring summer was going to leave tomorrow.

"What's wrong?" He asked yet again easily picking up on their moods as he placed the suitcase beside the door on the inside of the room.

"Well after tonight you're gonna leave." Ashley explained with a tiny frown. "And then we'll be pretty much stuck alone again; Jerrica and the others are really busy this summer and Mrs. Bailey left for vacation last week so we've been cooped up here for so long." She continued.

"Yeah; if another grownup was around at least we could leave the mansion; go to the zoo or something." Krissie added adopting an innocent tone picking up on what the older Ashley was planning. "Video and Danse sometimes stop over to make sure nothing bad happens; we really shouldn't be left alone, but with Raya gone and the others in town unable to get away from work…" She trailed off as the man sighed and tossed his bag onto the bed; a strange looking square device slipping out slightly.

"I can't just ask to stay here with you; Starlight Mansion is a home for orphaned girls if my memory serves, a single man living with you for a little while during his vacation… People could talk." He stated pacing slightly. "But then again it can't be a coincidence that I wound up here." He muttered speaking more to himself now as his voice grew softer and almost harder to hear. "I know I said I needed to get away, think things through and try to deal with… But still, Roma wouldn't just let me walk away… Something might happen here that could need me, when dealing with chaotic forces one can never be too sure." He grew silent as he regarded the three girls as if suddenly remembering they were still in the room; he smiled widely.  
"Why don't I have a private conversation with the other adults tonight; see what their reactions are, so why don't you tell the rest of the girls not to eat with us tonight?" He suggested; Ba Nee broke into a wide hopeful grin.

"You bet." Ashley exclaimed practically bouncing on the balls of her feet at the thought of having someone new to learn about and test boundaries with. "And thanks a lot Mister Rutherford." She added as the three girls raced off; once again Al sighed and picked up the tricorder, he nearly collapsed as he fumbled to open it his vision blurring slightly. Apparently the concussion was strongly affecting him and his special nanoprobes weren't healing him fast enough; he ran the diagnostic tool over his body and head ensuring there were no other injuries, and then with a deft flick of his wrist his assimilation tendrils slipped out and shifted the function to a specific healing tool.  
After fully healing himself he picked up Tony's solar battery; opened the window and placed it in a spot where it would start to collect the sun's energies.

"Self-replenishing solar battery." He scoffed with a chuckle and a smirk. "Who comes up with these names?" He wondered before deciding to find his way downstairs and to the kitchen.

* * *

"Shana Elmsford." The light purple hued haired African-American woman greeted as I entered the dining room.

"Allan Rutherford." I returned with a grin; this was so cool and worlds' of fun, here on this Earth I felt a strange connection like I'd never felt before, not even in my home reality. It was as if a part of me belonged here; fighting the good fight and helping those who couldn't fend for themselves deal with the threats presented in a world with Super Heroes, Super Villains, Ruthless Terrorist Organizations and Warring Alien Robots from another planet.

"I hope you like Choy Meine." Aja called as she brought the meal in with Jerrica and Kimber.

"Gotta taste better then Gahk." I muttered softly remembering the Klingon dish Neelix had insisted I try and then had to eat for nine months because Amy would only eat what I ate until her grandmother pointed out that Omnivores and Carnivores had different needs.

"I beg your pardon?" Rio asked from my right startling me; I couldn't tell if he was asking me to repeat myself because he had heard me, or hadn't.

"Oh nothing important; I'm not as picky as I used to be." I explained with a chuckle. "The constant traveling I've had to do, you tend to lose inhibitions… Except when it comes to Haggis." I admitted with a shudder; this elicited a chuckle from Kimber who quickly sat down to my left while Shana and Aja sat opposite us.

"That's strange the girls aren't here." Shana noted with a slight frown; I fidgeted slightly under the table because it was my fault they weren't eating with the adults tonight, but I could just never say no to pleading requests from children… At least not since I took charge of Amy; it was probably a trait brought on by all those years being denied certain reasonable requests from my own parents, although I have to admit they did spoil me more often then not.

"Joellen said they'd eat in the kitchen; something about not wanting to hear our business discussions anymore." Jerrica revealed with a slight shrug; Shana sighed as she served herself.

"I hate that we're all so busy right now." She admitted. "But with the Stingers out of the picture these days and the Misfits floundering miserably Starlight Music and the Holograms take up so much of our time." She added.

"Yes." Aja agreed with a tiny frown. "Delaree mentioned a fashion show she wanted to see on Thursday; but now that, that tour is coming up we're just so busy." She elaborated passing the dish across the table to Rio who began to serve himself eliciting a nod from the rest of the gathered band members; I smiled at my still empty plate carefully hiding it from the others, opportunity was knocking.

"I do not mean to presume." I began accepting the dish from Rio and proceeding to place a heaping portion upon my no longer empty plate. "But Krissie, Ashley and Ba Nee made a startling request to me earlier." I added glancing up at the gathered adults all hint of amusement now gone from my expression. "I am currently on vacation after all; and being that this was a somewhat unexpected vacation I never took the time to make too many plans, I was sort of in a drop everything and get out of here mentality at the time." I continued pausing in my speech to take a small bite of the meal and also seek out the best way to delicately put this request across; after all they didn't even know me very well.  
"Since I don't have anything to do; and the girls request seems to be more then reasonable to myself, I would gladly offer my services for as long as they are needed; to watch over the girls and let them get out of the house every now and again." I finished getting straight to the point; an uneasy silence filled the room then as the Holograms and Rio mulled over my words, I couldn't tell what they would think of such a request, but I knew I had to at least try for the girls sake… Something had brought me here; a perfect place to heal and remember why it was that I had agreed to Roma's request, these people were so far removed from the community I'd left behind in New York. And my soul did need the chance to heal after being responsible for the deaths of two men; no matter how evil they may have been.

"I don't know." Jerrica began seriously contemplating my words.

"I don't like it." Rio stated loudly interrupting his girlfriend; at least I assumed they were still an item. "You'd be staying here in the Starlight Mansion, correct?" I nodded. "One lone grown man in a house populated by a large number of girls, not to mention the Holograms and Jerrica." He pointed out waving his fork in my face; calmly I took another bite of my meal before addressing this concern.

"Are you implying something, pretty boy?" I growled; apparently some of B'Elanna's bad habits when it came to questioning her honor had rubbed off on me the longer I stayed around the half-Klingon.

"If the shoe fits." He shot back a semi-smug expression on his face as he leaned back into his seat.

"You insult my honor Mister Pacheco." I stated in a low almost dangerous tone of voice. "I merely wished to help out; it is part of my nature, and there is of course the fact that I have a daughter of my own whom I rarely get to see these days, perhaps my desires to play the part of the father are clouding my judgment, but I would never… **Never**; do something like what you are implying." I snapped flicking my fork slightly as I spoke and causing a bit of noodle to fly off and slap Rio in the cheek.

"So you claim." Rio returned glaring at me as he wiped the stray speck of food from his face with a napkin; I felt my muscles tense up, this was not going as well as I'd hoped and I was taking offense too highly, perhaps this is what Rio was trying to do. Gauge my reaction; goad me into doing something that might prove him right, would that I could slap him across the face with one of my assimilation tendrils or perhaps jolt him enough to give him static cling.

"Have I done or said anything to imply that I am untrustworthy?" I asked straight forwardly doing my best to take calm meditative breaths to fend off the growing anger, a remnant from a past I tried perhaps too hard to lay aside, my temper always was one to flare up swiftly my mother was the same way.

"No." Rio admitted with a slight incline of his head. "But you must admit it is a rather unorthodox request." He stated; I closed my eyes and mentally counted to ten, taking another bite of my food to hide my slightly meditative nature.

"Apparently my request is too much for you." I began with a slight curl of my lip; I was calmer now, but still prone to expressing my inner emotions with body language. "I'm sorry that I have come across in such a manner; and you have my word I shall leave first thing in the morning, now if you'll excuse me I've suddenly lost my appetite." I informed shoving my meal aside and rising to my feet; Jerrica glanced between us and Aja also looked surprised at the gallantry I was displaying, spending time with Xena had indeed paid off in the manners department.

"Mister Rutherford wait." Jerrica called bringing me to pause halfway out of the room. "Rio; I don't see any harm in him staying here, I mean the girls do need supervision and Video and Danse can only do so much." She pointed out.

"I agree." Shana spoke up. "It's always bugged me that we've had to leave them home alone so often." She added.

"Apologize to him Rio; please." Jerrica pleaded, Rio and I shared a look; he seemed to be weighing the pros and cons. Jerrica was glaring at him slightly; urging him on, she looked as though perhaps she knew something was amiss, that my arrival was no mere accident.

"Oh all right." Rio finally relented. "I'm sorry Rutherford, I didn't mean to call you a… Or imply that you're a…" He trailed off unable to even voice the word; I smiled softly showing that I completely understood.

"Apology accepted Rio." I returned using his first name to show that he and I might still become friends. "And I must offer an apology as well; I'm afraid I let my temper get the better of me in this situation, but if you only knew what I'm like around my daughter…" I trailed off as once again the sorrow filled me; I longed for her, I ached, my mind was so unused to being empty after the many years I'd spent with her presence inside of me, the innocence, the love, the fear, the exuberance… It had made me feel like a child again myself; something that had been slowly slipping away from me ever since Xena's world and then of course my assimilation.

"Where is your daughter?" Kimber wondered. "Do you have a picture of her?"

"None on me at the moment." I returned. "She's… Safe, with a friend; I have… What I mean is." I trailed off and moved to sit down again no longer capable to remain standing. "The job I lead; the way things are in the world, it's not easy to raise a little girl, especially when she's an… Well let's just say that she's one of those mutants whose mutation is physical." I stated almost blurting out the truth about her alien nature; Rio of all people moved to place a comforting hand upon my shoulder a small smile playing across his lips, one of understanding and a pain I didn't quite comprehend.

"The Friends of Humanity." Was all he said; and a darkness seemed to pass over the others, I eyed the man confusedly.

"We had a girl here once much like your daughter… She was five years old at the time." Aja began trailing off at the hurt the memory caused.

"They took her one night from backstage at our concert." Shana added. "We found her body the next day on Starlight Mansions' front lawn… Even the Misfits showed some compassion for the loss." She relayed choking back a few bitter tears; my eyes were dark now, narrowed and shrouded by shadows from the lights.

"Would that I had been here that night; they would know the wrath of the Shadow then, I can promise you that." I exclaimed without really thinking; the women eyed me quizzically.

"Shadow?" Rio repeated for the sake of the group; I smiled sheepishly and quickly strove for another harmless little lie.

"A nickname my daughter gave me once; upon our first encounter, it was rather dark at the time and I guess I looked kind of like a shadow come to life when I burst into her hovel of a home and took her from her guardians of the time." I fabricated keeping a smile that seemed fake plastered on my face at all times.

"Well Mister Rutherford." Jerrica began breaking the group of its collective mood of sorrow and awkwardness. "We'd be honored to have you stay here and it is a big help to us, if it's no trouble with you." She returned eyeing me uncertainly; her tone portrayed a slight hint of worry.

"It's really no trouble at all." I returned in kind. "I need this far more then you could possibly know." I whispered aside to myself before beaming up at the head of this rather large household, and I did not envy her the position. "And please, call me Al." I requested; the others shot similar smiles towards me; with exception of Rio who merely smirked slightly behind the palm of his right hand, obviously he was a little bemused at the tone I'd been taking during this conversation.

* * *

Later that night I unpacked my suitcase; the others had thought of everything, there were four pairs of pants, several assorted shirts and socks, a change of underwear for every day of the week and a picture of Jubilee, Kitty and Illyana with Hurry Back scrawled on the back. I smiled thoughtfully at the gesture and placed the picture on the nightstand; the medical tricorder was secreted away in the bottom of my underwear drawer and I tested out Tony's battery making sure not to make to much noise.  
It felt good; not like other times when I'd draw upon existing sources of power for a quick boost, this was almost like regenerating in and of itself because it was a natural type of energy. Solar energy must be really good for the little buggers that made up my technorganic self; with a tired sigh I slid under the covers and contemplated my reason for staying here. Was it selfish of me to take R&R when there could be countless dangers happening back in New York? Would Roma rip into me for doing this? Well if she did, tough; I'm still human after all technically a Technorganic Human, Borg hybrid, but we don't need to be technical. Stifling a yawn I turned over on my stomach and quickly surrendered to slumber…

* * *

Kimber, Jerrica, Aja and Shana were sitting around Synergy roughly the same time their new guest was falling asleep; they were having a late night meeting to discuss their new house guest, the other three band members having dragged Jerrica into the room so to speak so that they could all figure out just what was bothering her since the telephone call she'd made to Xavier's.

"Ok girl, spill; what's the big deal?" Aja demanded eyeing her friend knowingly.

"It's just, well that Xavier person said Al might choose to stay here for the duration of his vacation; I found it odd that a man would admit to such a thing about another man." Jerrica explained.

"Do you think he's a spy?" Shana wondered. "You know trying to find out your real identity?" She added.

"No way." Kimber retorted. "The only people who'd ever even think about spying on Jerrica still are too busy with their failing business to still care about who Jem is." She added.

"I hate to say this, but Kimber's right." Jerrica agreed. "Besides when we spoke to that Fury character he guaranteed that any and all records pertaining to Synergy would be erased from existence." She added; the others sighed, it was a big responsibility keeping Synergy safe from those who would use her powers for evil. She was one of only a handful of sophisticated holographic generators on the planet; of course the Holograms were unaware of the X-Men's Danger Room, or it's Avenger's Mansion equivalent, or even some of the other holographic technologies that had been perfected in the years after her father passed away and left Synergy in their care, but Synergy was the first human made holographic generator.

"I wish we knew the whole story surrounding that guy though." Aja exclaimed.

"So; why don't we do a little nosing around?" Kimber suggested with a sly smile, Jerrica eyed her sister dubiously; she wasn't keen on rummaging around the guys things, especially while he was a guest in their home.

"We'll do it." Shana stated pulling Aja into a half-embrace. "You can stay here Jerrica." She added; the leader of the band and head of Starlight Music shook her head.

"No; if anyone's doing it, we're all going to be doing it." She stated; and thus all four women left Jerrica's room and headed down the long hallway to where their guest was currently sleeping.

* * *

Slowly opening the door Kimber peeked in to make sure the coast was clear, Al was definitely asleep; his breathing seeming normal enough, but as she looked at him sleeping there she almost thought that there was an unnatural quality to it. As though he was perhaps a machine mimicking a human's natural sleep cycle, but that was crazy; she'd felt his flesh and boy was it ever flesh… Flushing a little she signaled the others to enter.

"This is so wrong." Shana remarked in a soft whisper. "I mean… Oooo what's this?" She wondered picking up the solar battery and eyeing it curiously.

"Looks like a solar battery; he probably uses it to recharge his laptop or something." Aja returned picking up the man's wallet and rifling through its contents, she wanted a closer look at his papers; especially that birth certificate he was carrying around.

"He has nice taste in clothes." Kimber remarked eyeing the shirts he'd hung up in the closet.

"Odd; if this is the man's vacation where are his bathing suit? Toothbrush, toothpaste and the like?" Jerrica wondered coming out of the bathroom where she'd been looking around.

"Maybe he's one of those people who doesn't brush." Shana returned thoughtfully; Jerrica shook her head.

"That doesn't explain why he didn't bring a bathing suit to LA, there's tons of areas to swim around here and that's what most vacationers go for." She pointed out.

"You're just being nitpicky." Aja scolded; Kimber shook her head and opened one of the drawers in the dresser, she quickly slammed it shut her cheeks growing red hot and the other three shushed her.

"Sorry… Underwear." She explained; Jerrica shook her head while Aja smirked.

"Boxers or briefs?" She asked.

"Oh definitely boxers." Kimber returned with a shy smile; that was when the man stirred suddenly in his sleep and everyone grew silent, normally he slept soundly though the Holograms were unaware of this, but tonight because of everything that had been happening so quickly, he was naturally in a state of unrest due to stresses on the mind.

"Amy." He called out in his sleep one hand reaching for someone that wasn't there. "Amy." He repeated turning over and thrashing about under the covers; his face was contorted in an expression of loss and sorrow, he was clearly upset by some dream surrounding this Amy person.

"Who's Amy?" Shana whispered; Aja and Kimber both shrugged simultaneously.

"Maybe that's his daughter?" Jerrica hypothesized.

"Why would a grown man be sleeping with his daughter?" Aja shot back.

"He never said how old she was." Kimber pointed out. "And little children often seek shelter with their parents when they have nightmares." She added recalling a time she'd needed her father badly; it was a few years after she'd been born and some bullies had been picking on her because of her shabby looking clothes.

"Destiny." He groaned shifting once more; this time one of his bare legs escaped the confines of the covers and hung over the side of the bed, he looked suddenly very troubled and his hands grasped the covers tightly as if he might be holding some kind of weapon.

"Kimber what are you doing?" Aja hissed; Kimber looked up strangely as though lost in a daze, she wasn't aware of it, but she'd been approaching the sleeping form of their guest while watching his troubled sleep. She was standing beside the bed now and looking at him; shaking her head slightly she glanced around.

"I think we've done enough for tonight; it's obvious we won't learn anything this way." Jerrica informed briefly glancing at the picture of the three teenagers sitting on the nightstand, the others reluctantly agreed and all four began to leave. Kimber however stayed back briefly; something compelling her to reach out and brush a hand through the man's hair, she couldn't explain it, but it seemed to her that as soon as she touched him he fell into a restful doze and lost the troubling dreams of Amy and this destiny he spoke of.

"Sleep well my champion." A voice barely whispered from somewhere beyond space and time; though Kimber failed to hear it as she left to go to bed. "It is never easy to take life, those you have killed before have been monsters, demons, followers of Ares." She added smiling gently, understandingly down upon the man she had gifted with such a great burden. "Here; you will find happiness again, and a means to lighten your soul." She finished before her presence vanished; using the woman Kimber as a brief conduit had been taxing and she did not wish to upset the delicate balance already hanging precariously on the edge of infinity.

* * *

Eric Raymond looked uncertain as he regarded the vehicles parked inside Misfits' Music's' parking garage. When he'd approached them a few days ago in New York he'd hoped that his problems would be over with; unfortunately he should have known better, his blasted greed had got him into this situation and there was really no one to blame but himself. Still he'd much rather live for another day rather then die at the hands of a monster; unfortunately he had no idea when the attack was to occur, and neither did his bodyguards.

"Well Mister Raymond time to head home." The Porsche remarked sideling up next to him; he tugged at his tie in order to straighten it and offered a squeamish smile to the driverless vehicle.

"Lead the way Jazz." He returned as the driver's side door flew open and Eric climbed in; he still wasn't used to having a car drive itself for him, and he doubted he'd ever get used to it.

To Be Continued; **Next time, Day One of Al's vacation watching over the Starlight Girls; what predicaments might crop up in LA that would require his unique talents? Find out in... Chapter Two of Sea of Turmoil.**


	2. Chapter 2 Further Decepticon Problems

**Author's Notes:** So far only one review, come on loyal readers give me some criticism or something, let me know what you think of this chapter... If you don't mind of course; please be kind, Read & Review. (Bet you thought I was gonna say, rewind.)  
And now; on with chapter two, which is a bit shorter, but I figured on breaking this second day up to build the suspense... Future chapters will be as long as the first one, if I can manage it; maybe even longer depending on stuff.

* * *

After a quick shower the next morning from the guest room's own personal bathroom, which I'd discovered last night when I was looking for a place to hang my shirts; I had a quick breakfast by myself and went outside to check my landing spot. The impact epicenter was clearly pushed in; though not by much, the grass had puffed out and was filling back in nicely. After making certain no one would wonder too much about it; I returned indoors and found a quiet room to sit in where I could read the book Rogue had obviously slipped into my luggage.  
A little after nine Jerrica found me engrossed in a space battle of epic proportions; the Galactic Alliance was facing the Vong in another confrontation.

"Al we're leaving for Starlight Music now." She informed somewhat absentmindedly as though distracted by the days itinerary. "The keys to the Starlight Express are in the kitchen and if the girls want to go anywhere I'm sure they'll be able to show you the way." She paused and pulled out a couple stacks of hundreds and I took them with some reservation.

"If not there's a map in the glove compartment. Thanks again for doing this; and be back by six thirty ok?"

"Certainly; you can have complete faith in these capable hands." I returned with a grin; Jerrica smiled.

"Oh yes, Vivian Montgomery is coming by around noon to get some tapes; she'll know where they are, but I thought it fair to warn you." She added in afterthought; I nodded trying to recall what Video, as she preferred, looked like. Then again the band always walked around in stage makeup and with those odd hair styles on the cartoon, so I really shouldn't be too concerned; although they didn't do that in real life. Jerrica patted my shoulder, which seemed a last minute decision on her part and quickly took off; I returned to my book for another few chapters so lost in the pages of the gripping space opera that it took someone clearing their throats to snap me out of my focus. I glanced up to find the Starlight Girls; Ashley approached me and I slipped the bookstore bill back in to mark my page before setting it aside.

"We took a vote; between the mall and the zoo… The mall won." She informed.

"What time is it?" I wondered realizing that my internal chronometer had gotten out of whack due to my intense focus in slowing my natural tendency to speed read.

"Doesn't your watch say?" Ba Nee asked confusedly; I covered it slightly as though recalling that it was there.

"Uh, well I haven't had the chance to change it yet; it's still on New York standard time." I quickly recovered; although truth be told it was currently on energy level monitoring mode because I hadn't been regenerating the past few days so I was closely keeping an eye on it.

"Quarter to twelve." Krissie informed; I nodded and picked my book back up.

"Great; as soon as Video gets here and picks up those tapes Jerrica told me about we can head out." I stated; the girls cheered silently.

"Ok; we'll get ready." Deidre stated ushering the others out, I shook my head with a smile and opened the book back up to page fifty-three.

"Piece of cake." I exclaimed with a grin little knowing the trouble today would present in getting things done.

* * *

"And I thought New Yorkers didn't know how to drive." Al groaned a half hour and a good three miles closer to town later. "_Flight would so be useful right about now_."

"At least we're not the only ones stuck." Krissie pointed out.

"Yeah, but Jerrica wanted us back by six-thirty." Lela reminded to a chorus of groans; Al turned his head to the right and his eyes lit up in surprised delight as he spotted the very familiar Lamborghini Countach racing down the emergency fairway trailed with a Datsun two hundred and eighty zee ex police cruiser and a small orange Semi.

"Sideswipe, Huffer and Prowl." He remarked and then rolled his eyes as he realized they weren't stuck in traffic. "Oh sure; the Autobots can do whatever they want." He griped.

"Autobots, where?" Ba Nee asked looking around as if the alien robots were walking around in plain sight.

"You heard me?" He exclaimed nervously. "Er… Just forget I said anything, please." He pleaded pulling ahead as the long line of traffic began to move yet again.

"Ok Allan, but I don't think Jerrica would approve of us lying." Krissie stated.

"It's not exactly lying if she never asks; besides I can't be the only one who recognizes the Autobots." He explained as the traffic flow came to another abrupt stop and several sighs could be heard.

"The first I've ever met." Deidre reported reaching from the middle seat to flick on the radio.

"And today in an unprecedented record number of voters Senator Robert Kelly was at last vetoed out of office after ties with the Sentinel project were proven true." An announcer was saying.

"Boring." Deidre whined reaching for the dial.

"Wait." Al ordered gently rapping her hand away from the knobs and turning the volume up.

"In other news the dangerous Venom is still at large; so far there have been no sightings after he and partner Carnage crashed an unveiling of Tony Starks' latest invention." There was an obvious pause and then the announcer came back on. "This just in, residents of Los Angeles are warned to stay indoors local authorities are reporting that members of the dreaded Decepticon Empire have been seen near one of the local power plants." Al cursed and flipped stations himself resulting unwittingly in a burst of static electricity, which coursed through the tuner and over his watch face.

"Yeowtch!" He exclaimed nearly losing control of the wheel. "Man what's the big idea?" He growled glaring at the offending piece of equipment.

"Report mission leader." A sudden and very familiar voice blared through the speaker's almost sounding dual stereo thanks to the watch's communication equipment.

""We've got the Energon you wanted oh Mighty Megatron; no thanks to Skywarps' incompetence." The unmistakable voice of Starscream stated; all eyes were on the radio now wide in disbelief, save for Al's which were showing his incredulousness at this turn of events. All of the occupants of the van were very atentative enthralled by the communiqué they'd somehow tapped into; it took someone's blaring horn to get Al to drive again.

"You're enroute back then?" Megatron demanded.

"Yes, we had to shake off Autobot pursuit so we left a little chaos in our wake." Starscream informed with an obvious sneer implicated in the tone of his voice.

"Excellent Starscream with this new Energon we can begin Operation Infinity." Megatron gloated. "What about that traitor Eric Raymond?" He demanded.

"Soundwave has seen to him; there's enough explosives in his building to blow up half of downtown and the Autobots will get all the blame." Starscream stated breaking into laughter.

"Jerrica!" Ba Nee exclaimed.

"What was that?" Megatron demanded; the girls all grew deathly silent and afraid, Al however took on a steely gaze and seemed to shift demeanors entirely, without warning a strange voice emerged from his throat.

"Soundwave reports; Autobots have detected my presence, I require assistance." He stated sounding as frantic as he could given the situation.

"Oh that's just great if we go back to help him we'll lose the Energon." Skywarp complained cutting in before Starscream or Megatron could react.

"So much for undetectable." Thundercracker chimed in, Al made laser sounds that were very authentic and then he shifted demeanors again.

"Stuff it Thundercracker; Soundwave and I aren't the only ones fightin' this war." He snapped in perfect mimicry of the Decepticon known as Rumble; he looked like he was trying hard not to laugh, Soundwave would be in radio silence while placing the explosives and he knew that.

"Rumble how many Autobots are there?" Megatron demanded.

"Eh; how am I supposed to know it's chaos around here." Al returned with a snarl before he let out a loud growl. "Ravage!" Soundwave cried out now. "Eh; looks like five or six, they just got Ravage, I can see that jerk Prowl and that braggart Sideswipe though." He continued before putting on his blinkers and switching lanes; the girls were frozen in terror as Al raced the Starlight Express down the emergency fairway.

"Sit tight I planned for this contingency; Scrapper your team is a go." Megatron ordered; Al's eyes widened in fear now and he slammed on the accelerator switching the radio off in the process.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…" He banged his head briefly against the steering wheel for good measure and desperately began searching the fairway for any Autobot stragglers.

"What's wrong?" Ba Nee asked bravely despite the extreme fear in her tone.

"Devastator." He replied with a sigh. "I should have anticipated that… Oh thank Primus, now I've just got to convince him to listen to me." He exclaimed rolling down the window and blaring the horn. The four wheel drive jeep swerved to a stop with a start having little choice since Al had pulled up in front of him. "Stay here and don't panic." He stated unbuckling and racing out of the van.

"Human are you insane I could have harmed or killed you and your passengers." Hound stated; Al sighed.

"Yeah sure, whatever. Look you are not going to believe this, but it's all true honest to God; I just intercepted a Decepticon communiqué on the radio." He explained in a huff.

"So." Hound began. "That was you." He returned with a chuckle startling Al, he glanced at the holographic driver sitting in the front seat and just starred disbelievingly.

"Did I miss something important or has the whole planet gone insane today?" He demanded, he felt a little foolish talking to an empty jeep; the drivers' mouth didn't move in tandem with Hound's words.

"Prowl this is Hound; you can relax, that third channel you picked up belonged to a human." Hound informed over his private channel; Allan stared agape at the Autobot, but he was quick to realize the joke.

"Megatron or Starscream?" He wondered.

"Both actually; a false communication to both units was the only way to be sure Megatron wouldn't try again to kill Raymond at least in public." The Autobot returned. "Fortunately you only tapped into Starscream's; I must admit you make an excellent Soundwave impersonation, Rumble and Ravage too." He complimented with a chuckle.

"And I was afraid for some friends of mine." Al grumbled. "You guys could really make me want to kill some of you." He added turning back to the van; Hound rolled up alongside him and revved his engine.

"How'd you learn so much about us anyway?" He wondered; Al sighed and kept walking.

"It doesn't matter; just forget this incident ever happened if you don't mind. Because I feel I've made an idiot out of myself enough for one day thank you very much." He replied climbing back into the drivers' seat.

"Is everything ok?" Ashley wondered worry clear in her tone.

"Yes; this would be a case of misrepresentation." He replied with a sigh.

"What does that mean?" Joellen demanded. "Is Jerrica and the others in any danger?"

"No." Al revealed with a deep sigh. "It appears that somehow we picked up a fake communication between an Autobot posing as Megatron and Starscream." He elaborated turning the Starlight Express around and beginning to drive back the way they'd come.

"Aren't we still going to the mall?" Ba Nee asked clearly pleased that the Holograms were all safe.

"There's no hope of getting to the mall now; we'll just head back to the mansion and try again tomorrow." He explained.

"Wait until Jerrica hears about this." Ashley exclaimed smiling knowingly at Allan who turned to face her with a look of sheer horror.

"You can't… She'll ask me how I knew those Autobots and I really can't explain myself." He stated in a pleading tone.

"But we can't lie to her." Krissie remarked disquietly.

"Not lie… Just don't bring it up if she doesn't ask directly." He requested. "If you promise to keep this secret I'll answer any questions you want, providing it isn't about them." He added; the girls in back put their heads together and began to whisper amongst themselves. Al refocused his attention on the road shutting their conversation off with particular ease; they got his attention a good ways down the road and Al tuned back into the world as the conversation resumed.

"Ok we've decided." Deidre began.

"We'll keep your secret." Ashley added.

"If you answer just one question for now." Krissie continued glancing at Ba Nee with a smile.

"Do you have any children?" She asked looking up at him from the passenger seat with an innocent expression.

"Why would you want to know that?" He wondered curiously.

"The way you addressed Ba Nee when you first met her; you kind of acted like a parent." Anne explained.

"How very perceptive of you." Al complimented with a warm smile. "To answer your question yes; I have one daughter, adopted." He revealed.

"Cool." Ashley exclaimed. "Can we meet her?" She asked; Allan's face fell as he turned the van back onto the road heading to the mansion, he didn't know how to explain why Amy wasn't here with him now. Ba Nee picked up on his pain regarding him curiously; she saw a tear trickle down his cheek and he hastily wiped his eyes before any of the others noticed.

"She's with her Aunt." He finally replied smirking slightly at the term. "Well not really her aunt; just a close personal friend of mine I trust to keep her safe while I'm preoccupied with something of great importance." He elaborated.

"She and I can't be together right now… She's… Well it's kind of like that girl you once knew that Jerrica mentioned last night at dinner; if she came out in public too often someone unfriendly might develop an interest in her, I saved her once I don't want to have to go through that again." He finished a harshness in his expression now; the Starlight Girls all accepted this with quiet reservation, Terri and Ba Nee looked especially upset.

"We were all the same age when she came here." Ba Nee explained; Al nodded understandably as he pulled the van back into the garage at Starlight Mansion at last.

"Yeah; this vacation is most definitely a blessing." He remarked. "Say why don't we make dinner for Jerrica and the others huh? Kind of as a surprise?" He asked.

"That would be so cool." Ashley replied exuberantly.

"Don't you mean outrageous?" Deidre wondered with a sly grin.

"Definitely." Ashley agreed with a chuckle; the girls began to laugh as they all piled out. Al led the twelve girls back into the mansion and proceeded to the kitchen; Delaree approached the cupboards and began passing plates around to some of the others. Lela the eldest member of the Starlight Girls gathered the silverware and got Terri and Marianne to help; _boy what luck I can remember the names of the girls_; he thought to himself as he started rummaging about the fridge.

"Now then what to prepare?" He wondered aloud as he noted that the pickings were numerous and he was seriously having trouble figuring out what to do… Then again he happened to know for a fact he wouldn't be touching the Pike. "I think I got enough fish with Xena to last me a lifetime." He complained in a low tone so the girls couldn't hear.

"Can we make something that isn't fancy for a change?" The shy Nancy asked coming up beside him and taking him by surprise.

"What do you mean?" He pried curious to know why she'd be fed up with fancy meals; and also to hear her talk more, she was always so quiet.

"Well Jerrica and the others are good cooks and all, but they always make big meals." Anne explained coming to Nancy's rescue due to the girl growing flushed and nervous; she smiled gratefully at the older girl. "I guess it's because there's so many of us here, but we've had big fancy meals for the past three weeks." She continued with a sigh; Al chuckled slightly.

"I suppose that would get boring real quick." He observed recalling the years of Talaxian cuisine he'd been forced to endure aboard Voyager. "Ok; fancy is out, so what's that leave?" He wondered letting his eyes travel over the food stuffs that littered the shelves. There weren't many pickings now that they'd eliminated the fancy deals; the ground beef could be used for lasagna or spaghetti, but that'd take too long. Checking the freezer briefly he was surprised not to find any pork chops or hamburgers so what could he do with the foods on hand?  
_Hold it… Ground beef, tomatoes, green onions, cheese, tortilla shells…_ "Lela I don't think we'll be needing that silverware." He called out with a smile as the solution presented itself.

"But we just finished." She protested; Al shot her an apologizing look as he pulled everything from the fridge or freezer.

"I'm real sorry." He began as Ashley and Krissie got some bowls for him since they knew what he was planning. "But tacos don't need utensils." He continued carefully placing the food on the counter and retrieving a cutting board and knife for the vegetables.

"Is that all we're having?" Deidre wondered seemingly sulking.

"Whenever I have tacos that's all I've ever had." Al returned beginning to cut the tomatoes. "However a lot of people have to eat; so why don't we toss in a salad for good measure?" He added with a grin.

"I'll get the lettuce." Ba Nee volunteered.

"We'll need carrots and cucumber too." He called out with another big grin secretly using his mutant-like gifts to turn the oven on without anyone noticing. "And Nancy would you be so kind as to fetch me a large frying pan for the beef?" He requested turning to start shaving the cheese.

"This is gonna be fun." Terri giggled as she sat down to watch Al preparing the meal. "I can't remember the last time we had Mexican; Jerrica and the others only know how to make Chinese, Tai or Italian." She added practically hopping up and down in her seat with excitement.

"Then it sure is good I'll be here for the next two weeks." Al stated with a jubilant tone; the girls all burst into a fit of giggles while he took the lettuce and other fixings from Ba Nee and passed them to Delaree so she could wash them.

"Good for Kimber too." Ashley teased causing the man's hand to slip; the others were too busy laughing to notice the burn he sustained from the element, his eyes watered with the pain and he was extremely grateful it healed in a split second.

"Wow didn't that hurt?" Ba Nee suddenly asked; glancing down at the girl in horror Al realized that he hadn't been as unobserved as he'd thought.

"What?" He demanded his voice cracking with fear and slight anger more at himself for being so careless. Ba Nee thought he was mad at her and promptly averted her eyes as a few stray tears trickled down her cheek.

"Now why'd you go and do that?" Ashley demanded glaring daggers at Al while trying to comfort the girl; a silence fell over them all as Al literally squirmed with guilt.

"I am so sorry." He whispered knowing that everyone could hear him in the silence. "But you scared me Ba Nee; I didn't think anyone saw." He admitted.

"Saw what?" Marianne asked speaking up for the first time in his presence since yesterday; Deidre crossed her arms over her chest and eyed the man critically expecting some stupid lie. To answer the question Al did something rather unexpected; he moved the frying pan aside and repeated the accident showing all the girls what Ba Nee had witnessed. The girls gave a collected gasp of surprise and Al cringed anticipating either a flurry of questions or a brief stunned silence followed immediately by screams. What he got instead was a very quiet few moments before Lela approached him and examined his hand closer.

"It's completely healed." She reported eyeing him with what amounted to newfound respect; this took him by complete surprise.

"We've never known a mutant before." Krissie added for the whole group. "At least not for longer then a few days." She added in a very pained tone; she approached Al as he resumed preparing the meal, not wishing to let it go to waste despite what was happening. Krissie took his hand and felt the palm marveling at how smooth and cool it was; Al smirked a little lopsidedly, he'd never experienced this kind of reaction before.

"No wonder you were so afraid." Deidre remarked. "But why get angry with Ba Nee?" She demanded.

"I wasn't" Al replied softly rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I was angry with myself for letting her see that; I didn't want to get any special treatment or kicked out because of… Well you know." He elaborated confident that he could now leave the beef and see to the salad.

"We were all taught to be open minded and respect everyone no matter what." Nancy stated flatly; the others made noises of consent and agreement bringing a smile to Al's lips and causing him to fail to notice the look of envy Nancy was shooting him.

"Besides you've generously offered to take us places and watch over us." Ashley added as he turned and finally shot them a winning smile. "You're just even cooler now in our book then before." She continued returning his gesture with a grin.

"Man this place seems so unreal compared to Xavier's." He remarked. "Considering the way others have reacted when they find out I'm pretty grateful there's still decent people in this world." He elated feeling the burdensome weight of secrecy slipping from his shoulders.

"At least that answers one question that's been bugging me." Deidre piped up as everyone returned to what they'd been doing all smiles and laughter again.

"The bruises." Al guessed with a chuckle; Deidre laughed openly and Al grinned once more before glancing over to Ba Nee. "Forgiven?" He asked; she choked back the last of her sobs and nodded, Al in turn knelt down and held out his arms. She allowed him to hug her comfortingly for a brief few moments and then pulled away. He climbed back to his feet and quickly finished preparing the food; Jerrica came in a good ten minutes later and smiled at the sight before her. Most of the girls were sitting down watching as Al whistled to himself flipping the taco fillings in the frying pan and even seemingly managing to toss the salad bowl over his shoulder so it landed on the table with perfect aim.

"I see I had us rush through that final meeting for nothing." She observed with a small smile; Al flicked the oven off and carefully poured the remaining meat into the metal bowl he'd set aside still whistling to himself and seemingly not hearing the Holograms coming in.

"We wanted to surprise you." Lela supplied; most of the others were so busy watching Al they weren't paying much attention either.

"I can see that; a rather informal meal tonight wouldn't you agree Shana?" She remarked as the band member joined the group.

"Oh thank God." She blurted her face flushing as soon as the words were finished emerging past her lips; Lela and Ashley burst out laughing at her reaction and Al was careful to keep his smile hidden; Aja, Kimber and Ba Nee followed the sound of laughter into the kitchen, Ba Nee having left with Terri and Nancy earlier for some reason or another.

"What's so funny?" Aja wondered.

"Nothing." Shana quickly informed taking the salad off the smaller table and heading off to the dining room.

"Make your own dinner night." Kimber exclaimed her eyes lighting up at the sight of the taco fixings.

"A pity Rio couldn't stay." Aja added; Al eyed her curiously before her words sank in and an expression of mock horror plastered itself on his face.

"Just me, twelve girls and four women?" He exclaimed a tiny part of his mind truly panicking at the thought; after all you're talking major league girl talk, but a larger part of him felt a giddy thrill at being there. Unbeknownst to the once fictional characters Allan had actually grown up with Jem and the Holograms the cartoon; as well as GIJoe, The Transformers, He-Man and so many others, and to him being on the opposite end of the television screen was the most thrilling thing to his inner child. And considering his recent adventures this small semblance of normal life was doing serious good; still if the source of that Chaos decided to make waves…

"Yes; that's not a problem is it?" Jerrica wondered seriously concerned that Al may be feeling like the odd one out.

"No of course not." He replied with a mischievous twinkle entering his eyes. "As long as it doesn't include braiding each others' hair and boy talk." He quipped with a smirk; Jerrica laughed aloud at his joke and took the plate of tortilla shells from Ashley as everyone headed into the dinning room.

"You are something else." She remarked.

"I try." He returned setting the meat down with a smile.

"Five women." Ba Nee spoke up suddenly. "You've forgotten about Jem." She added; Al's face paled considerably at that for the briefest of instances, in truth he'd forgotten all about the fact that Jerrica and Jem were supposed to be two different people, considering he hadn't met Jerrica as Jem yet though it was understandable.

"Oh my, I feel all tingly all of a sudden." He quickly joked faking a swoon. "Whatever shall I do; I'm going to wind up losing my masculinity." He added; the girls kept laughing and the Holograms joined in a little forced perhaps… Jerrica eyed everyone and then headed for the exit.

"I'll just go find Jem; she was right behind us when we came in." She spoke up before vanishing leaving the rest of them alone to start dinner.

* * *

"So; the Autobots prevented us from dealing with that traitorous flesh creature, and they are apparently aware of Operation Infinity." Megatron mused aloud as his loyal warriors stood gathered around his throne at their current hidden base of operations. "A most troubling development to say the least, wouldn't you agree Starscream?" He asked glancing to his left.

"Troubling; I think not, it merely means that we have a second chance to eliminate the flesh creature, I would be honored to take on such an assignment Lord Megatron." The conniving Air-Commander returned bowing slightly to hide his smirk.

"I think not Starscream; report to Ratbat at the Gabor Oil Platforms immediately, we must step up our production of Energon cubes." Megatron barked before turning to Soundwave. "Rumble and I shall see to Mister Raymond personally; when the time is right, allow him to believe he has succeeded in thwarting us for the moment, all the better for when we do strike again." The Decepticon leader stated with a large twisted smile; Starscream hid his anger well and promptly converted into vehicle mode to follow his orders.

"One day Megatron; one day it shall be I who is in command of the Empire and then you shall be no more." He ranted to himself as he rocketed across the stratosphere at Mach five so as to remain undetected from Human surveillance equipment.

To Be Continued; **Wow, talk about nerve wracking... Will our intrepid hero again encounter the Transfomers? Is Eric Raymond truly safe or will Megatron succeed in his despicable plot to terminate him for betraying their secret? Find out be reading more great chapters of Sea of Turmoil.**


	3. Nighttime Meetings Daytime Adventures

**Author's Notes:** I'm glad I'm inspiring some of my readers and helping them to learn more about characters they don't know too much about, anyone else reading this feeling the same way? Why not drop me a line with a review? As promised this chapter is slightly longer then the last; however I didn't want to make it too long because then you might start feeling burnt out with reading it all. Anyway; I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, and for those of you who actually know a little something about Jem and the Holograms, this is Earth 929, they aren't the same from the cartoons although they are remarkably similar in certain respects... So yes I can get away with making up some things that may or may not have happened to them on the cartoon in a different fashion.

* * *

I was quiet through most of dinner as my obligations towards Roma continued to plague my thoughts; I had been so worn out by guilt earlier I'd failed to realize what could happen to my new acquaintances should the Chaos make its' move. After all I hadn't gotten permission from anyone to just bug out; I was the cause of two men's deaths, oh sure they were notorious super villains and the Red Skull alone deserved to finally be killed, but it was not my place to met out punishment. I wasn't the Punisher; I wasn't a vigilante like Batman who killed villains in the early days, if I'm not mistaken and I certainly wasn't someone like Ghost Rider or the DC equivalent. A sigh escaped my lips at all these tumultuous thoughts and I pushed my half-eaten meal aside, I needed a quiet place to think.

"Allan is something wrong?" Kimber asked as I climbed to my feet; I wanted to say something, I looked into her eyes, strangely enough filled with concern for a man she hardly knew. But I had to keep my secrets and I was afraid if I started talking I would just blab everything; I couldn't do that to them, I couldn't tear apart their beliefs and I certainly couldn't admit I'd been lying in front of all the Starlight Girls. With another bone weary sigh I shook my head and silently headed out of the dining room; through the kitchen, and out back where I could try to think things through.

"That was rather rude of him." Aja remarked; Kimber nodded, but Jerrica seemed to feel differently about the man's actions. The way he was acting reminded her all too well of a man with a burdensome secret; or perhaps secrets, she alone could sympathize, for even though her closest friends and Rio knew the truth. Synergy was still her burden and her's alone; and all the years working as both Jerrica Benton the head of Starlight Music and Jem leader of the Holograms; well she decided that perhaps now was the time to seek him out in private.

"We don't really know that much about him." Shana pointedly reminded. "But he hasn't done anything wrong."

"Still he seems to keep a lot of secrets." Aja pointed out. "I don't buy that whole school teacher thing." She added.

"Wouldn't you keep secrets if you were a mutant?" Deidre demanded coming to the absent man's defense, she covered her mouth in sudden fear as she realized she'd spoken that out loud.

"Really?" Kimber demanded her eyes flashing slightly with an expression of, of all things, joy.

"How do you know that?" Shana asked eyeing the young girl suspiciously.

"He showed us." Lela supplied in a low tone.

"After I accidentally saw his power working." Ba Nee added honestly.

"What kind of power?" Aja wondered a slight hint of fear in her tone as she glanced towards Jerrica, tonight's cover story was that Jem was feeling too tired to eat and so had gone to bed early.

"He heals faster then us." Jerrica supplied figuring that since the cat was out of the bag there was no point in hiding the fact she knew as well; in retrospect she should have mentioned something to the Holograms earlier, as evidenced by the hurt expressions now plastered on her friend's faces.

"Oh what a relief." Aja exclaimed settling down. "For a second I was afraid he'd be a telepath." She elaborated taking care that the girls didn't notice when she indicated the Jemstar earrings. Jerrica smiled and climbed to her feet; she began to follow after Al and seemed to have a plan in mind.

"I think I'll go convince Jem to finally meet the man and have a word with him." She called out smiling slightly now that her back was turned.

"Good idea." Ashley agreed grinning proudly. "If anyone can cheer him up it's going to be Jem." Jerrica merely smiled at the show of confidence and made her way after Allan hoping that her hunch was right and he'd gone outside; once she was out of hearing range she moved behind a small cluster of trees and tapped her left hand earring.

"Showtime Synergy." She whispered and in a flash the Jem hologram appeared over her person; this would be a perfect chance to get to know the young man better without him aware of it. She made her way towards the garden where she expected to find him and so was surprised when she heard two distinct voices, slipping closer she wondered what was going on.

* * *

After having left the Starlighters; as I affectionately chose to nickname them I found my way into the garden and sat down on a bench, what was I supposed to be doing? Why was I even here when trouble plagued New York and my friends there? And why was I suddenly feeling the need for Rogue to be here?

"Go away Q." I muttered when that oh so familiar flash lit up the area a low groan escaping my lips; I really didn't have time to get a damn lecture from his high and mightiness.

"I'm not Q." A slightly familiar feminine voice stated in an indignant tone; I turned in surprise to find the female Q that had become Q's mate standing on the lawn.

* * *

Jem found Al talking to a strange looking woman; she was wearing a low cut black evening gown complete with elbow length gloves and Jerrica didn't know what to make of this, Allan seemed to know her though as evidenced by the look of bemusement on his face and the quirked eyebrow.

"At least not the one you were expecting; although I find it most mundane and resentful to be drafted into this." She stated obviously continuing some part of the conversation Jem had missed; she moved to sit beside him then and Al shrugged indifferently turning his back on her, and so missing the expression of concern that briefly crossed the woman's features.

"So go chew him out I'm not in the mood for anything he'd have to say anyway, I thought he wasn't going to be popping in as much as he used to." Al stated with a very audible growl of contempt.

"I know the two of you don't get along; and I can't fault you for it, but if you think my Q is going to just up and ignore you now that you're off in another universe… Well you humans always were hopelessly naïve when it came to understanding the reasoning's behind the Continuum." The woman remarked in a bored air; she then looked very serious and placed one hand on the man's shoulder. "I came here with a message from Roma though, not Q and you will hear it." She snapped; Al looked visibly shaken and his eyes betrayed a sense of pain that hadn't been there earlier.

"If this is about abandoning my mission." He began, the woman shook her head and Jem tried her best not to be discovered; if he was working for Roma then no wonder he was trying to keep everything secret from them, of course he didn't know that the Holograms had been accidentally pulled into a mission of her's in the past.

"It is and it isn't." The woman returned with a sly smile. "Roma and my Q both agree that you should stay here and enjoy yourself." She informed clearly taking Al by total surprise. "And before you say it there isn't." She added as though reading his mind; she literally sighed and patted the man's knee before climbing back to her feet succeeding in surprising him again. "Roma isn't the only one worried about you; She is too and she wants you not to have to worry so much about things, she sees this as an opportunity to help you cope in a setting that can clearly succeed greater then Xavier's or New York has to offer." She began offering a brief smile. "After all you did grow up with Jem and the Holograms; and these Starlight Girls need you, more so then perhaps you realize." She continued taking care not to let the young man hear that last part, though she'd been standing close to Jem's hiding place at the time and she'd heard it quite clearly.

"But, what if the Chaos discovers my presence here?" Al demanded. "I can't be responsible for the death of any one of these people, these girls." He added looking away a deep sense of fear entering his eyes.

"If they don't know where you are they can't send anyone against you." The woman returned slyly; Al looked up in shock, so far he'd been dogged by three groups of attackers and they always seemed to know instinctively where he was. "You're making headway; the source of the Chaos can't see you anymore, you've destroyed some of their power and they have lost the ability to track those who came from other universes." She explained; Al sighed in audible relief and looked down seemingly lost in thought. "And you can expect another visit soon; we of the Q Continuum may have lost many things over the millennia, but we aren't heartless." She added a smile of pity resting on her lips; Al clearly looked like a fish out of water and Jem couldn't blame him, she'd had the grave misfortune of meeting a Star Trek fanatic once, he'd detested the fact that Jem and the Holograms had guest starred on an episode of The Next Generation. She'd explained to him that it wasn't her idea, but he'd been most adamant; and then he'd started going off about Q and how Q should come in and destroy her for what she'd done, so she knew what some people were like and she'd did a little research on John DeLancie's role at the time.

"When?" He demanded.

"Next week; you will be allowed two weeks of leave from your mission, any longer and things might become dangerously unstable yet again." She returned; Al nodded and the woman shot him an encouraging smile before vanishing, Jem had to avert her eyes or risk going blind. She let out an involuntary gasp, which Al heard; he leapt to his feet and turned to find her standing there. She was wearing a rather fashionable dress of pink and purple; she knew her height was five feet nine inches and she also knew that her hair looked pink, after all she was Jem and Synergy tended to keep to the same looks, Al was clearly taken aback.

"Jem." He blurted recognizing the woman; of course he knew her as Jerrica Benton in disguise, so he was naturally feeling a little strange about meeting her here and now, and she knew he was afraid she might have overheard everything.

"Mister Rutherford." She greeted with a slight incline of her head; her voice cracked slightly and she knew she must look a little pale, stepping out from behind the trees she approached Al and reached out a hand.

"Er… How much did you hear?" He demanded growing extremely paranoid; Jem lowered her hand and sighed.

"Enough." She returned. "I won't tell the others Mister Rutherford; I know the price one makes to keep a secret." She continued moving to sit beside him. "You could have told us the truth though; it wouldn't have been strange to us, when you live in this kind of Universe… Well you tend to adapt to the strange things that happen whenever those who protect the innocent are involved." She pointed out; Al sighed and lowered his head in shame, he knew that Jerrica now knew, but what she didn't know or Synergy for that matter, was what kind of universe he came from. He decided he'd keep that bit to himself; he knew it was necessary otherwise he might upset Jerrica, she seemed to like being able to become a whole different person whenever she was Jem, although the fundamentals of her character were usually still the same.

"I didn't want to bring my troubles here; I didn't want to burden anyone and I don't want to hurt anybody." Al whispered; Jem smiled and placed an arm around his shoulder in a show of understanding and support.

"I think you should take that woman's advice; I won't pretend to understand everything, but I know enough about lost souls to know when someone needs a place that isn't so involving…" She paused eyeing the young man and found him sighing beneath his breath. "Trust me Al; you need this, and if taking two weeks off won't jeopardize us, can't jeopardize us I say go for it." She stated; Al nodded and seemed to cheer up greatly.

"Thanks Jer… Uh; Jem, you don't know how much that means to me." He returned; Jem smiled seemingly oblivious to his almost slip up in calling her by her alternate identity. In point of fact she'd been too busy wondering about all that nonsense about the Q Continuum and so hadn't heard the near faux pas.

"I think I do." She whispered too low to be heard. "So; what did she mean by another visit?" She wondered; Al's face lit up with excitement and a huge grin spread across his face.

"My daughter." Was all he had to say; Jerrica knew what she meant to him, or at least had some small idea.

"Well then; why don't you go back inside and finish your meal, I'll go find Jerrica to let her know that nothing's wrong." She suggested; Al nodded smirking secretively at the knowledge he possessed, standing up he began to head back pausing to turn back and eye Jem where she was still sitting.

"Thank you Jem; seriously, my secrets always get me the same type of reaction, pity… I'm really sick of it; and I'm glad there are people like you on this Earth, people who won't try to learn everything they can about me… Or pity me because of what they learn." He stated; Jem shook her head and found herself smiling once more.

"We all live together on this world Mister Rutherford; if we all knew each others' secrets the world wouldn't be as much fun to live on." She remarked sagely; Al took her words in stride and quickly made his way back to the mansion and the friends he was slowly beginning to make.

"Jerrica; are you certain it is wise to keep this secret from the others?" Synergy wondered. "Danger has a habit of following Mutants like Mister Rutherford." She pointed out; Jerrica shook her head.

"Synergy he needs this; I don't know why, I don't even know if Rutherford's his real name. What I do know is what my father taught me; what my mother taught me, never turn your back on a friend when they're in trouble." She stated; Synergy made a soft sighing sound, but didn't press the matter further. "Are you ok?" She asked.

"Yes Jerrica; I am operating perfectly, shall we return to the others?" The computer Jerrica's father had built asked; Jerrica nodded and pressed the left earring again with one finger.

"Show's over Synergy." She stated; she'd gotten into such a habit saying that back when she first started out as Jem she just couldn't get over it. Jerrica Benton sat where Jem had been mere moments before and then quickly rose and made her way back to the house.

* * *

"So what more can you tell us about yourself Mister Rutherford?" Aja wondered while the five of us were washing dishes; I shrugged placing another clean plate back in the cupboard.

"Not much to say." I returned with a grin. "I've led a pretty straight forward life; and I insist you call me Al, I hate being called Mister it makes me feel old."

"Sure thing Al." Kimber stated with a smile and a wink as she passed another dry plate to me purposefully letting her hand linger over mine, I regarded her with a confused look.

"Uh Kimber." I began; she cut me off with a wave of her hand.

"I don't mean to be so flirtatious with you Al, but you are a very attractive man." She returned with a shy smile.

"Kimber's got it bad." Aja whispered aside to Shana; I merely ignored the women's silent giggles and took a seat now that I'd put the last of the dishes away. I was sad to say, used to women hitting on me by now and still secretly enjoyed it; the problem was now Rogue and I wanted to start something and I couldn't jeopardize that. Aja and Shana said they had something to do and left; Jerrica looked up a slightly curious expression on her face.

"So what'd you think of Jem?" She wondered bringing me up short and causing me to choke back the urge to blurt out my incredulousness in a simple though dangerous exclamation.

"Oh she was ok I guess I really didn't have that long of a talk with her." I returned with a shrug playing along with the charade; this could prove most tricky if I wasn't careful.

"Well she is kinda secretive." Kimber remarked with an indignant snort that she kept from her sister; I eyed her curiously, but decided not to get involved, Kimber was usually depicted as being a tad jealous of her sister. She was also depicted as a boy crazy ditz at times, but I found that hard to believe even only knowing her the past two days; sure she'd been practically throwing herself at me on occasion, but she was smart and talented and definitely had something going for her.  
With a fake yawn and a lavish stretch I managed to get a glimpse at my power reserves; eighty-nine, not bad, but I did feel like I could use a good nights regeneration. A pity I couldn't just have brought my bed; I knew from experience that the old energy would get stale after another few days from now. By which I mean that after absorbing energy to replenish the lost or expended energy day in and day out my taste buds tended to develop a nasty habit of making it seem like everything I ate or drank was flat and tasteless. The energy would then start degrading and making me a little on edge; it was something I'd despised since discovering it and I really didn't want to go through it again.

"Well I guess we'll leave you for some alone time." Jerrica began moving towards the exit. "It must have been a long day with the girls." She added with a smile; I felt like smiling too, but merely nodded in agreement before the two Bentons left.

"A fella could definitely get used to this kind of lifestyle." I remarked to myself as I smiled openly now; it was great to be a sort of father figure for all those orphans, and the company of the Holograms was downright pleasant. Still I did miss my friends at the institute; especially Rogue, she and I were really starting to hit it off and we were definitely more then ready to take that next step in our relationship. With a slight sigh I made my way to my room where I could retrieve my book and do a little more reading before hitting the sack.

* * *

"So what was his problem?" Aja asked eagerly as Jerrica and Kimber passed through the holographic disguise and joined the others around Synergy.

"He was worried about us actually." Jerrica replied knowing she was treading on dangerous water. "He's had quite a few troubles in New York and he was worried they might have followed him here." She elaborated trusting that Synergy would respect Rutherford's privacy. "But I convinced him that they couldn't possibly have known where he went."

"How do you know?" Shana wondered showing concern for both the girls and her friends; they'd been attacked once before by a crazed mutant.

"Well the way he arrived here without his luggage for one; he had to have left the city in such a hurry that they wouldn't realize he was gone until he actually was." Jerrica returned hoping she could convince them; she knew that Q woman had told Al he was safe here as were the others, but she couldn't tell them that. It would raise too many questions; luckily they dropped the subject and their conversation moved on to business.

"Tomorrow we're off right?" Kimber wondered seeking confirmation; Jerrica nodded with a tired smile.

"Yes; I convinced the company that Jem and the Holograms would need a few days to rest up before the big concert." She gently reminded taking a seat and sighing with exhaustion.

"We've been working to the bone the past three weeks, we deserve it." Shana observed moving from her position to one of the comfortable seats herself; since the band often met here when discussing business they'd brought some chairs in.

"You said it." Aja agreed stretching lavishly as she yawned.

"Doesn't that mean Al won't have to look after the girls?" Kimber wondered in slight confusion; the others laughed aloud and shook their heads in amusement.

"No; it just means he'll have a little help." Jerrica corrected; she turned to Synergy with slight worry as the sophisticated computer began to make an odd sound. "You sure you're ok Synergy? That stray blast from the Decepticon scrambled the earrings a little." She inquired her fear self-evident.

"I will be fine Jerrica." Synergy countered. "It was nothing."

"Who'd have though those Decepticons would come to L.A.?" Aja remarked shaking her head slightly with disbelief.

"I would; Raymond has been getting desperate since the Stingers retired, the Misfits just aren't bringing in the sales like they used to." Shana countered shifting slightly in her seat; Jerrica was still a little touchy when it came to the Stingers, she'd had a bad breakup with Riot a few months before they announced their retirement from the industry.

"Desperate enough to make a deal with them?" Kimber scoffed rubbing her arms as a chill ran down her spine. "I sure hope not; I couldn't bear it if we were taken from the girls." She added.

"It doesn't matter anymore; they won't try anything again now that the Autobots have intervened." Jerrica stated in a tone that clearly said end of discussion.

"I sure hope so." Kimber whispered turning her back on the others; something told her their encounters with the Decepticons were far from over, though she had no idea why.

* * *

Meanwhile on the opposite end of the continent Rogue sat alone in Rutherford's room with a gloomy expression; she had just begun to feel something towards the man on such a level that she wanted to start that relationship now. She didn't care if he would be going home when this was all over she just wanted to experience a loving, caring relationship and her biological clock was ticking. As she continued to pine over the man she was distracted from her thoughts by a blinding flash; Q was suddenly standing next to Rutherford's bed and he smiled as he caught sight of her.

"Honestly at times I think that man could teach Riker a thing or two." He quipped with a slight smirk of bemusement; Rogue would have said something, but he vanished just as suddenly as he'd arrived taking the regeneration bed with him and making the room feel even emptier.

"What was that all about?" She wondered to herself slowly beginning to fear Rutherford might never return, but no; that was a foolish thought, he probably just needed his regeneration bed. She recalled what he'd been like when he couldn't regenerate properly those first few days he'd been here; with a wistful sigh she picked up the shirt she'd been holding and continued to mull over a decision she'd started to consider when she found out he'd be staying with Jem and the Holograms.

* * *

I shielded my eyes in annoyance as Q appeared; was I cursed to be dogged by him from here to eternity? My regeneration bed was with him and he wordlessly handed me a small squarish device before vanishing with the other bed I'd been about to lie down upon.

"Thanks I suppose, but don't think this means I like you any more then I did before." I murmured quickly programming and activating the mobile emitter; the regeneration bed vanished and an exact replica of the previous one took its' place. I lay down and made myself comfortable before picking up my book from the nightstand where I'd left it; I was quite thankful that I wouldn't have to rely on that solar battery anymore, it may be nice, but it couldn't compare to proper regeneration.

* * *

I was awakened the next morning by the sound of giggling and my eyes snapped open so fast it took Kimber by complete surprise; of course the fact that my hand had snapped up and snagged her wrist before she could finish whatever joke she'd been planning probably had something to do with it. Ashley, Deidre, Lela and Becky were huddled around the door and they were just as surprised as Kimber; the Hologram's keyboardist's face flushed with shy embarrassment and I was quick to release her, _stupid warrior instincts they could scare people if I wasn't more careful_.

"Not the wake up call I expected." I quipped feeling suddenly nervous; a hologram can hide the image of a bed, but not the thrumming sounds mine always made.

"Sorry; the girls can be quite persuasive at times." Kimber whispered apologetically; though I could tell she was secretly thrilled at the position she found herself in.

"No big." I began shifting slightly under the covers and finally averting my gaze from Kimber's deep pooling eyes, _why was I so caught up like that?_ "Now if you don't mind I should be getting ready." I added mentally kicking myself at the blush that raced over Kimber's cheeks once more; who knows what she was thinking or perhaps hoping to find under these covers. She hastily mumbled another apology and left ushering the girls along and closing the door; climbing out of bed I let out a low groan of embarrassment before slipping out of my boxers and heading to the bathroom.

* * *

Coming downstairs fully dressed in a new outfit and feeling ten times better after his shower Al realized that it was ten thirty; he'd over slept, Jerrica and Aja appeared to be discussing something in the living room as he passed by, Al chose not to listen in however and made certain his audios wouldn't start listening in of their own accord. It was something he had to worry about at times; his subconscious was highly curious at times and tended to override simple commands.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" He wondered hastily grabbing a few odds and ends to serve as breakfast. "I promised the girls that this time we'd actually make it to the mall." He elaborated regarding Kimber thoughtfully.

"After that busy day yesterday we thought you could use a few extra hours sleep." She explained; Al found it quite amazing at the ease with which he'd been assimilated into the ranks of the daily routine, then again this was Jerrica Benton and Jem and the Holograms after all.

"I suppose." He consented forcing himself not to dwell on the memories that wanted to resurface. "Shouldn't you be heading to work?" He wondered curiously as he began to eat.

"We get two days off because of a huge concert we're performing on Thursday." Shana replied watching fascinated as Al seemingly inhaled the last of the left over tacos and moved on to an apple. "Isn't it a tad early for that kind of food?" She wondered with a playful smile.

"No, I wasn't in the mood to make a proper breakfast and I'm used to junk food as early morning meals." He returned with a slight shrug and a wry smirk. "When you don't live in a mansion during your childhood you tend to develop bad eating habits, especially when you cook pizza for dinner and have leftovers." He added in a playful tone; Shana averted her eyes briefly before glaring at him and was probably about to say something about the old Starlight House when a shriek could be heard from the primary living room. All of them dashed off; Al arriving first thanks to his longer legs and found Krissie on the floor laughing her head off while Ashley and Delaree sat dejectedly on the couch.  
At first he couldn't for the life of him figure out what was wrong until he noticed that both blonds had bright orange streaks running through their hair. "Something tells me this isn't my department." He murmured quirking his eyebrow as Jerrica and Aja finally joined them from the secondary living room, with so many rooms in this mansion it was going to take a while before Al knew what was what.

"What's wrong?" Jerrica demanded her worried state slowly evaporating as she saw Kimber and Shana trying hard not to laugh.

"Joellen got in our shampoo again." Delaree replied with a sigh.

"She messed around with the hair dyes you use for the band." Ashley elaborated; Aja was smirking beneath her hand at the ridiculous appearance the orange streaks gave off and Jerrica let out a loud sigh.

"We have to do something about these jokes; they're starting to get out of hand." She stated in slight annoyance.

"Did I miss something?" Al wondered curiously; Kimber shook her head as if to say 'it's not important' and Al shrugged it aside.

"What's all the commotion about?" Rio demanded surprising the others as he raced into the room out of breath; Krissie's cry must have been loud enough to attract even his attention from the driveway where he'd just been pulling up.

"Nothing a good stylist probably couldn't fix up." Al quipped turning to leave; he hadn't exactly made a good impression with Rio a few days ago and he was worried that something might flare up.

"Allan!" Jerrica exclaimed shooting a glare at the young man; he let out a small sigh as he caught the hurt expressions on the two girls' faces.

"Stuck my foot in it that time." He muttered. "Sorry you two I didn't mean that to come out the way it did, I'm kind of used to using humor as a means to avoid confrontation; it's sort of a defense mechanism and well… You know me and Rio didn't exactly get along Sunday night." He added bending down so he wouldn't be to imposing to the girls; he was the tallest person currently in the mansion. "Plus you know how we men can be when it comes to fashion; would you believe three of my students and Rogue… Ah; that woman who brought my luggage had to pick this out for me?" He wondered with a tiny smirk as he indicated the rather fashionable attire he was currently decked out in. "I'd just been looking at grimy old tee-shirts and sweat pants in the discount place." He added with a beaming smile; so technically it wasn't true, but the smiles that lit up their faces as they tried to picture him clothes shopping with four women clearly indicated the man had a knack for recovering from verbal slip ups.  
Rio was eyeing him with distrust clear in his pupils and the Holograms seemed to approve of his attempt considering the smiles they were trying to keep hidden; fortunately for Al perhaps he had the luxury of being a temporary guest and so wouldn't have to deal with the Starlighters when they hit puberty. As Al stood up he looked quite satisfied to be reminded of just how much taller he was compared to Rio; he turned to leave once more intent on finishing his breakfast because unknown to the others he was still quite ravenous when he nearly bumped into Kimber. She quickly averted her eyes as the blush returned as if she'd been caught about to do something bad; Al was a little uncertain about what she'd been planning and so warily, and wisely avoided saying anything more.

"Rio why are you here so early?" Jerrica asked ignoring what was going on with her sister.

"Ah." Rio stammered rubbing the back of his neck nervously; Al shot him a brief icy glare knowing full well what he was doing, checking up on the other man, which proved to irk his honorable soul slightly.

"_I knew I should have just sprang for a blasted hotel; Rio is seriously beginning to get on my nerves, I thought we'd gotten past this Sunday._" Al thought to himself unwilling to say anything further.

"Rio; you can relax you know, Allan isn't going to do anything." Jerrica stated a hint of delight hidden in her eyes that the man cared so much for her, her family and her friends.

"I know; it's just…" Rio trailed off eyeing Al briefly. "There's just something about him that bugs me." He finally admitted.

"You two need to make up." Kimber stated dragging Al over to where Rio was standing. "I don't care how, I don't care if he still bugs you afterwards; just please for our sakes." She requested; Rio sighed and glanced at Al thoughtfully.

"I suppose she has a point." He began shooting the man a brief friendly smile, which succeeded in taking Al by surprise.

"Well, I guess I did kinda rub you the wrong way when we first met." He remarked. "Truce?" He asked holding out his hand; Rio nodded and clasped it shaking the man's hand.

"Well that's better." Jerrica began before a loud scream and a crash made everyone jump; once again Al dashed off ahead of the others, he was beginning to feel like the whole world had turned on its edge this morning. Upon arriving at the room he was startled to find a pleasant looking reading room with several book cases; one of them had fallen over spilling the contents across the room, Terri was lying halfway under it crying in obvious pain.

"Terri, my God; what were you thinking?" Jerrica demanded as she raced into the room and saw one of her young charges injured, her voice cracked with worry and fear; the young eight year old choked back a sob and held out the book she'd wanted as an explanation.

"Quick; call an ambulance." Rio ordered. "Rutherford; help me get this off her." He added looking up, but for some strange reason the other man had disappeared, shaking his head with a slight hint of rage he turned to the nearest Hologram. "Aja." He snapped; she jumped slightly and moved to help him.

"Something's wrong; I can't get through on the phone." Kimber spoke up hanging up the phone in frustration; the book case came up and Shana gently moved Terri aside, her leg was bruising something fierce. However it didn't look broken, but none of the Holograms wanted to take a chance; they decided they'd have to rush her to the hospital and turned as one to carry her out to Rio's van when Al reappeared a look of trepidation on his features.

* * *

I didn't know what to say concerning what I was about to do, but damn it that girl needed to be healed now and quickly before complications arose; she reminded me too much of Amy to just let this centuries medical technologies handle the situation. Flipping open the tricorder without a word I strode forward and removed the diagnostic portion; it began to beep and ping immediately and I ran it over the girl's body.

"Hold her steady." I snapped at Shana as the readings became skewed; the Hologram eyed me confusedly no doubt believing I'd lost my mind, the in-depth scan revealed that there was a crack on her left femur and her rib cage was badly bruised, one of the bones almost cracked through completely and definitely would have pierced her lung if she'd been hit any other way. "Terri can you be brave for me?" I asked breaking the silence; she stifled her sobs and nodded, with a brief nod of my own I switched functions and held the device up. "This might sting a little; maybe even hurt or possibly tingle; your body isn't used to this kind of… Technology." I admitted; Terri scrunched up her face into a show of bravery and I nodded once more running the now fully tuned Osteo-stimulator over the injured bones.  
She let out a startled cry briefly and then calmed down as miraculously her bone was re-knit; a bead of sweat trickled down my brow as my nerves caused my sweat glands to overreact, and I wiped it aside with a mental brush of my gravitational powers. Within seconds Terri's leg was healed perfectly; the blood, which had escaped through the tiny gash had stopped flowing as her metabolism adjusted to the strange method of healing. Next I ran the tool over her ribcage and healed it swiftly; then I readjusted the medical tool into dermal regeneration mode and healed the gash on her leg.

"What is this?" Kimber asked plucking the Tricorder from my grasp as I closed it back up again and eyeing it curiously. "It looks familiar." She added.

"Uh… Well." I began squirming a little in nervous tension; Jerrica approached her sister and removed the device from her hand, she regarded it closely while Terri surprised me by wrapping her arms around my neck from her position and giving me a quick hug.

"I don't care how you did it, but thank you; just… Thank you." She whispered into my ear; I smiled as my cheeks began to grow a little hot and I got back to my feet, _there sure was a lot happening this morning_.

"Consider that a little gift to help get that Rio goon off your back." Q's voice stated smugly right next to my ear; I narrowed my eyes at that, there had been absolutely no need for Q to meddle. We'd been resolving the problem on our own; I was about to loudly and verbally berate the omnipotent pest when I felt my Tricorder slide back into my hand.

"An interesting and highly useful device." Jerrica observed with a wink. "Another prototype from Tony Stark no doubt?" She mused.

"It's a good thing you had it." Aja added wiping the last few tears from her cheeks; she hated to see any of the girls in pain.

"I owe you one." Rio interjected before I could even voice a word as he placed a hand on my shoulder; I blinked in total confusion and would have said something, but Kimber leapt at me taking me by complete surprise. I caught her of course; I didn't want to fall flat on my ass with the Hologram sitting on my chest.

"You're Outrageous!" She exclaimed before kissing me long and hard; my cheeks flared scarlet as conflicting emotions ran through my mind, on the one hand I wanted this because Kimber was quite the attractive woman and I'd had a little crush on her back when I watched the cartoons with my cousin… On the other hand I didn't want to destroy what Rogue and I were trying to build; struggling out of her embrace I took about five steps back standing in the doorway.

"Well… Ahem…" I stammered trying to find words to express myself properly. "Er; I do believe we were going to the mall." I finally stated addressing the small gathering of girls who had joined us during the whole thing, Ashley grinned and shot me a thumbs up, but I don't know if it was for the kiss or what I'd said.

"I'll go tell the others to get ready." She stated dashing off; I sighed moving to leave and pausing briefly on the threshold of the entrance.

"I shall return this to my room; kindly refrain from mentioning it again." I requested before leaving outright.

* * *

"That was one of those gizmos off of Star Trek." Shana blurted rounding on Jerrica. "I recognized it from when we guest starred; so how come his works?"

"Does it matter?" Jerrica asked trying to keep the secret still. "He helped out when we needed him to; lets' just leave it alone." She suggested with a slight sigh as she knew this wasn't the end of it.

"Why do I get the feeling that you know some of his secrets?" Rio muttered narrowing his eyes; a pleading glance from Jerrica made him quickly change back into a neutral expression. "Not that I'd pry, I mean there are a lot of people who happen to have secrets and do loads of good." He amended moving over to Jerrica and wrapping his arms around her from behind; Jerrica smiled at the affection in his gesture and turned to face him.

"Why whatever could you be talking about?" She wondered with a playful look on her face; Rio merely laughed and pulled her into a kiss just as Rutherford returned.

"So did anyone want to come with?" He asked. "Not that I can't handle it alone mind you, but twelve girls are still twelve girls." He added.

"I'll go!" Kimber exclaimed rushing over to him and entwining her arm with his; he looked like he wanted to say something, but knew better.

"Rio and I will come too." Jerrica offered before Rio could object she slapped his wrist lightly. "You don't exactly know the girls tastes just yet and Kimber alone won't be able to help prepare you." She added with a sly smile as her sister bristled at the good natured jibe. "Not if you're trying to paw him all the time." She added softly as she brushed past her sister; Kimber's face flushed scarlet.

"We're all waiting." Ashley informed rushing into the room before anyone else could say anything. "I sure hope we get there this time." She added before rushing off again.

"What did she mean by that?" Shana wondered as the four chaperones began to follow the eager young teen.

"Oh you know; yesterday afternoon there was all that traffic and we just couldn't make it in time." Al replied with a false laugh that was reminiscent of Jerrica's whenever she'd mentioned Jem having just stepped out at certain functions, the Holograms recognized it well.

"If he keeps trying to keep those secrets of his secret he's going to blab them." Aja remarked with a smirk.

"I wish I could get a better look at that Tricorder." Shana muttered; Aja shook her head.

"Come on; let's relax while everyone's out, maybe we can get a hold of Raya and chat." She suggested. "But first let's clean up this mess." She added indicating the bookcase; Shana sighed and moved to help lift the now empty shelving unit back into its proper position.

* * *

The Starlight Express felt decidedly cramped; Rio had offered to drive so I was stuck in the back surrounded by girls and with Kimber on my lap, turns out there was just one too many people for the seats. So guess who volunteered to double up; Kimber smiled sweetly at me for the sixth time and I had to return the smile, I am polite after all and Kimber was attractive, but I felt like I was leading her on and it was tearing me up inside. I was really starting to wish it was Rogue in my lap instead; and every fifteen minutes Jerrica would shoot me an apologetic look, I took it in stride after all she was truly sorry for how her sister acted towards me. Still if she didn't stop it soon I'd seriously consider screaming; I'd taken this vacation to get away from those types of looks. The girls were a little subdued for a change; they only talked about the trip and not one of them giggled at how Kimber was acting.

"And in other news the Scorpion has managed to escape yet again." The radio announcer informed; I rolled my eyes at that.

"Doesn't Gargan ever know when to just quit?" I groaned startling the others in the car; I mentally kicked myself as the girls eyed me curiously now.

"How do you know who The Scorpion is?" Rio asked as we turned off the highway at last.

"Me, what about you?" I shot back; Rio squirmed slightly.

"You first." He countered.

"One of my students did a report." I explained easily lying despite how it made my stomach twist; he shrugged and returned to watching the road. "What about you?" I prompted.

"I'd rather not say in front of the girls; it happens to involve the Stingers." He returned; I shrugged.

"Fair enough." I stated.

"I wish they'd quit interrupting the music with those reports." Deidre complained twirling a strand of her hair as she popped her gum.

"Got any more of that?" I wondered; it had been a good six or seven years since I chewed any kind of gum.

"Sure." She supplied handing out a stick of Double mint; I took it and proceeded to chew marveling at the long forgotten sensations that assailed my taste buds.

"Thanks." I relinquished crumpling the wrapper and slipping it in my pocket until we got out; Deidre smiled and resumed her chat with Ashley and Krissie, I felt a strange sensation on my back and wondered what it could be. Kimber shot me a shy smile and pulled her hand out from under my shirt; I let out a sigh, now that was going a bit too far.

"Kimber." I began in a low tone only to stop as she placed a finger over my lips.

"No don't, please?" She whispered pleadingly. "I know you aren't really that interested in me, but can't I just pretend a little longer? My last boyfriend…" She trailed off the look in her eyes seeming to strike a nerve with my soul and another sigh escaped my lips; her face fell in disappointment, but I merely shook my head and offered a smile.

"Ok, but try not to go too far anymore; it'll only hurt you more in the end and I can't bear that." I conceded feeling like a complete heel that I would even consider allowing her to carry on for a moment; after all she was a sweet woman in her own right, a little naïve perhaps and yet definitely didn't know the meaning of giving up. But Rogue and I were committed to ourselves in all, but name and I didn't want to do or say anything that would destroy that; Kimber just wasn't making it easy for me.

"Deception! How long must I continue this deception? This masquerade!" The radio began to sing startling me with the strange appropriateness of this particular Jem song; although it was an old song, at least judging by the way the girls really didn't pay it no mind. "Deception! My life seems like it's nothing but deception! A big charade! I never meant to lie to you, I swear it! I never meant to play those games at times I wanna cry to you! 'Cause I can't bear it, when I fear our love will land in flames! Deception! I pray that you'll forgive all this deception. This masquerade! Deception! It's time to put an end to this Deception! But I'm afraid! When the whole thing is at an end and you learn that it's just pretend, you'll cry Deception!" I sat back and let the music fill me; enjoying the sudden bout of nostalgia that accompanied it, it was almost as good as hearing the theme for GIJoe or The Transformers.  
"Deception! I pray that you'll forgive all this deception. This masquerade! Deception! It's time to put an end to this Deception! But I'm afraid! When the whole thing is at an end and you learn that it's just pretend, you'll cry Deception, **Deception,** Deception! **Deception, **Deception! **Deception"**

"We're here." Jerrica informed suddenly causing a flurry of squeals; I glanced up in surprise and marveled at the sight of the mall, the first thing to catch my eye was the Wal-Mart sign.

"Yeesh; they're everywhere." I muttered as Kimber hopped out; the girls got a little impatient with me for being so slow to follow, but they maintained a modicum of respect at least.

"Ok Rio and Jerrica can take six one way and Al and I will take the other six; then we'll meet at the food court when we're done." Kimber suggested; Jerrica was about to protest when I held up a hand.

"Suits me; after all if anyone needs to try on clothes it'd be better if one woman was at least with her." I stated all the while putting on a brave face; Jerrica regarded me with a warm smile and I felt my ears going red.

"So how do we go about dividing the girls?" Rio asked.

"We already did that in the van." Lela informed with a smile. "We sort of figured this'd turn out this way." She elaborated as all twelve girls maneuvered into two groups of six; Lela led hers over to Jerrica, which consisted of Delaree, Becky, Nancy, Joellen and Marianne. This left Terri, Ba Nee, Ashley, Krissie, Anne and Deidre with Kimber and me.

"Ok then we've got four hours." Jerrica stated glancing at her watch.

"Only four?" Ashley moaned.

"It'll be almost three by then and Aja and Shana can't prepare dinner alone." Jerrica reminded with a shake of her head.

"What about Jem?" Terri wondered.

"She's much too busy to help prepare dinner." I automatically responded surprising Rio, Kimber and Jerrica. "What with that concert coming up and all; when I saw her the other night she really looked haggard." I added for good measure speaking as though I had some experience in judging people's workloads by their physical appearance; with that we went our separate ways and yet again Kimber entwined her arm with mine, sometimes I could just be too darn nice.

To Be Continued; **Yeah; I cut it off here, where there really isn't any big action or tension building moments, but hey they can't all end like that.**


	4. Chapter 4 Shopping with the Girls

**Author's Notes:** Looks like my loyal readers missed out on that last update due to glitches beyond my control; either that or they didn't know what to say and so chose not to review, either way it's been long enough of a wait so why don't I share with you all another fun filled character driven chapter. Please be kind, Read & Review; and try to take certain scenes/character development with a grain of salt. And now; on with the show...

* * *

A good twenty minutes later I was seriously wondering how I would have managed on my own; even with six girls gone this was still a handful. And what's worse; being a tall man in a chique boutique really meant I got noticed, half the employees had hit on me in the first five minutes and one had even wondered if I was a celebrity. And watching the girls picking out new clothes wasn't any fun; oh sure when Ba Nee came up to me and asked what I thought it was cute, but there's only so much one man can take. As I switched seats for the seventh time I happened to catch sight of Deidre dragging Ashley into her dressing room; my subconscious tuned the audio circuits in this time and unfortunately I began to hear a conversation I really didn't want to.

"Just try it on." Deidre insisted as a hanger banged against the door.

"I don't know; I'd feel funny wearing one." Ashley whispered in a shy tone.

"We all get them eventually and Kimber's too busy with the younger girls to help." Deidre countered; for some reason I felt my cheeks flushing with embarrassment and I tried desperately to regain control of my audios, but my subconscious knew that I'd have to face this kind of thing with Amy eventually and this little conversation might help me somehow.

"Look, you need the supports; so either try'em on or…"

"I gotta go!" I exclaimed turning to Kimber and drowning out that last part entirely; she eyed me in surprise at the sudden outburst and the expression of shame on my face, though I really shouldn't have been embarrassed, all girls did blossom into young women after all… Then again if someone were to find out what my subconscious was doing I might get branded… Well let's just say some days it doesn't pay to be helping girls with their shopping. "I'll be back in ten or fifteen minutes, ok?" I asked getting my voice under control; Kimber smiled as she seemed to realize what might be bothering me, but she didn't say anything merely nodded. I made my exit as calmly as I could and turned quickly down a corridor leading to the public restrooms; I stopped midway and began to bang my head on the wall. "Stupid slaggin' circuit systems." I moaned ignoring the odd looks shot my way; I continued to drive my head into the wall trying to erase the memories of that conversation to no avail. "Why me?" I moaned finally ceasing my damaging to the Malls' wall and regaining some modicum of control; no one was bothering me so I took off wondering if it was safe to go back. Until I caught sight of the electronic store; a sudden thought entered my mind erasing my emotional upset and I made my way over to it, I'd considered getting a camera before to give me some memories to look back on and share with others. However I never got around to it; and yet here was the perfect opportunity, and excuse to get me to not return just yet so I could overcome my strange fixation on the emotion of guilt, it's not like I planned to damn well overhear their private conversation, the human mind is a complex thing. More so when you have the capacity of one hundred percent of your brain power; some of that little used hundred percent did a lot of strange things at times, without my consent. So I went in; there were so many to choose from and so expensive, but I did have unlimited credit. But would I have to repay that debt back? Roma never gave me any rules along with that credit card; oh well it didn't matter much; I'd have to use it eventually.

"Hello Mister Rutherford." A voice that sounded familiar to me greeted; I turned from my examinations of the merchandise to find Vivien Montgomery standing beside me.

"Oh hi Video." I returned noting that she was carrying a large camera bag over one shoulder.

"Looking for anything in particular?" She wondered; I shrugged and turned back to the merchandise wondering how best to respond.

"Not really." I finally admitted. "I was just thinking how much my cousin would get a kick out of this; so I figured I'd get a camera and take some pictures to share with her." I elaborated reaching out to check the price of a digital camera.

"Pictures aren't enough." Video stated taking me by surprise. "Home video is the way to go if you want to cherish your fondest memories." She advised picking up one of the digital camcorders and handing it to me; I eyed her curiously and she shot me a warm smile. "I guess I'm being presumptuous." She remarked with a sheepish smile.

"Nonsense; your idea is a most logical conclusion." I returned entering full-blown logic mode; she grinned and pulled me along to the accessories section.

"This brand is the best deal; its' memory and other useful accessories are the cheapest." She elaborated passing me a few memory cards and a battery recharger; she also got a pack of batteries, a carrying case and a cleaning and maintenance kit.

"Ah Video." I began getting worried as I easily calculated the amount with taxes; she shot me an apologetic look and moved to put the kit back.

"Sorry, but when it comes to this kind of equipment I can get a little carried away." She apologized returning the battery recharger and carry case.

"That's an understatement." A new voice interjected; Video's eyes narrowed as we both turned to see a woman of equal height to Video, meaning five feet eight inches. She had a very loud wardrobe and her purple hair was done up in a flamboyant style, she was also wearing two small cymbals on her wrists.

"Go away Clash." Video growled tugging at my arm to pull me away from the other woman, but Clash grabbed my other arm and pulled back causing me to almost drop the expensive equipment.

"Make me." She shot back with a smirk before turning her full attention on me. "So how'd my dorky cousin get to hang out with a hunk like you?" She wondered eyeing me with obvious lust in her eyes; I found myself wondering for the ten millionth time what was it about me and women?

"Why not ask her yourself Constance." I quipped easily breaking her grip and surprising both with the use of Clash's true name; I didn't care, she was as obnoxious and annoying as I knew she'd be from the cartoon.

"Don't call me that." She snapped smashing her cymbals together and purposefully bumping into me; I dropped the equipment and she smiled mischievously, but the next instant I'd snatched the free falling camera out of thin air.

"Nice try." I whispered smugly before turning towards the cashier. "Thanks for the help Video." I added addressing the other Montgomery and wondering how she put up with such a cousin. Clash's eyes were bugging out and her teeth grinding; Video on the other hand was quietly laughing at her cousin's misfortune.

* * *

Paying for my purchase I left the store and immediately went about studying the manual; in no time at all I'd prepared the camera and switched it on as I returned to the boutique.

"Hi Al; do you like this?" Ba Nee asked twirling her latest outfit to show it off for the camera.

"Very pretty." I complimented with a smile; Ba Nee gushed with joy and giggled as she vanished back into the changing room.

"What's with the camera?" Kimber asked as she sidled up next to me.

"Oh you know us tourists." I replied off handedly as Terri and Krissie joined us impatiently eyeing the store clerk.

"We're gonna be late to the band supply store." Krissie remarked worriedly. "Mister Treshin said he couldn't hold those drums forever."

"Ok, ok…" Kimber sighed and beckoned Ashley and Deidre over. "Ba Nee, Anne you're going to have to make up your minds now." She stated firmly.

"Ready." Ba Nee proclaimed hopping out of the dressing room with the outfit I'd complimented and one other.

"Oh fine." Anne huffed emerging with a plain looking dark blue and purple skirt with matching top. "I'd rather have black though." She admitted with a sigh; Kimber nodded in understanding as she took both girls purchases and shoved them into the rest of the pile, Deidre handed her a few bandanas and jeans while Ashley passed her something she was careful to hide from my view. I felt my face growing a little hot again and quickly switched off the camera for now; slinging the strap over my shoulder I began to think a carry case wouldn't have been such a bad idea.

"So why do we need drums?" I wondered as Kimber took everything to the front and the cashier began to ring it up.

"Our old set broke." Deidre replied with a sour expression.

"Because Anne broke it." Ashley accused glaring at the twelve year old who was back to wearing her gothic looking attire.

"I did not." She shot back. "It honestly slipped."

"You've always been jealous that Krissie, Ash, Delaree and me wanted to start a band." Deidre retorted; Anne bristled at this and shot an evil glare at the girl.

"Maybe because you kicked me out." She snapped; Deidre rolled her eyes.

"You couldn't play a note." She reminded in a teasing tone. "All you ever could do was sit in your room and write that creepy horror junk."

"Shut up." Anne growled; ok at least I was relieved the girls didn't always act like perfect angels, seeing as that would have sent the creep factor to the roof. But this was getting out of hand; time to break it up before anything extreme happened.

"You gonna make me?" Deidre shot back. "You used to be just like us, but ever since you got that first period you've changed." She added in a snappy tone; Anne's eyes widened in embarrassment and before I could actually say or do anything she slapped Deidre across the face and ran from the store.

"And I thought this would be easy." I muttered as Kimber raced back over to us.

"What's going on?" She demanded glaring at Deidre who looked for all the world like a little lost puppy.

"Nothing; I mean things got out of hand, I didn't mean…" She tried to apologize only her words failed her and she broke down into sobs; she was taking this harder then I would have thought.

"Al; I've gotta go after Anne, can you look after the others until we get back?" Kimber asked about to rush off.

"No." I countered taking her by surprise. "I think I'd better go after her." I explained passing my shopping bag and new camera to Kimber.

"But." She began only to quickly trail off as she caught sight of the strange look in my eyes.

"Call it a hunch." I stated heading for the store entrance. "We'll meet you at the music store."

"Ok." Kimber stammered uncertainly before I vanished into the crowd; something told me I would know exactly where to find Anne, some of her mannerisms reminded me of someone I knew all too well… Well I should; after all I used to be that someone.

* * *

Allan found Anne sitting on a chair in the Chapters book store; she was looking through the pages of a book, but not really paying attention as she cried silently to herself, Al sighed softly so as not to startle her as he approached.

"I thought so." He mused startling her; she glanced up in surprise and her cheeks flushed when she saw who'd come looking for her.

"Go away." She whispered trying and failing to engross herself in the novel; instead of leaving he sat down beside her with a knowing smile and merely waited until she built up the courage to look back up at him. "I could kill Deidre for saying that in front of you." She muttered the tears still silently falling; he nodded in understanding and laced his hands together behind his head as he leaned back in the chair.

"So that's why you like to stay to yourself more." He noted in a low tone. "You like to write huh?"

"Yeah." She relented. "Ever since I was six."

"And a few years ago you stopped hanging out all the time with the others; preferred to be alone and just write?" He surmised taking care not to grin or show any signs that could set the girl off.

"Jerrica always encouraged us to follow our dreams; and then I sent in to a writing contest." Anne returned softly. "They told me I was no good; that a child could write better then me, but I was a child." She elaborated her voice cracking as she remembered the hurt and pain she'd felt that day. "So I vowed to get better and show them I could write."

"It's never easy is it? For us creative people and the like." He observed surprising her by including himself in the category.

"You write?" She wondered perking up at the thought of finding a kindred spirit.

"Used to; don't get much time nowadays I'm afraid." He admitted with a wistful sigh; he was beginning to miss those carefree days, the long hours spent sitting at the living room table and weaving another complex adventure filled tale. He silently began to wonder if any of his ideas became alternate universes, but pushed those thoughts aside and turned back to the girl. "What Deidre said wasn't right, but she's only human and we can't all be perfect." He stated in as comforting a tone as he felt comfortable with. "But holding a grudge isn't recommended, you two are obviously friends and practically sisters judging by the way she reacted after you left… All the Starlight Girls strike me as having a strong sense of family; the way you older girls look out for the younger ones." He continued looking out at nothing as he spoke; Anne was nodding in agreement at his words and surprised him as she actually hugged him for a brief moment seeking solace.

"I suppose you're right." She admitted with a sigh as she closed the book she'd been holding. "But it still hurt deeply." She added under her breath thinking herself too low to be heard.

"Cruelty often does even when the person doesn't really mean it; believe me I've had a lot of experience in the matter." He offered sighing as a flood of memories from his long lost childhood flashed through his mind; it hadn't been an ideal one.

"But you can't let them get to you; so what do you say we head back to the others and you and Deidre make up?" He suggested; another sigh escaped Anne's lips, but this time it was one of acceptance. She got out of the chair and moved to return the book a tiny wistful expression passing over her face for a brief moment; Al smiled and stopped her by taking the book from her and regarding the title.

"You can buy this if you'd like." He offered.

"Really?" She asked eyes widening in surprised delight.

"Call it a gift." Al returned; she laughed and briefly kissed his cheek in gratitude before the both of them headed for the cashier. Unknowingly Al was thinking of Amy again as he paid for the book; he missed her so much, but then he remembered something, she was coming to visit in less then a weeks time, that made him smile.

* * *

"Oh Anne I'm so sorry!" Deidre cried as the duo rejoined the group a good forty minutes later; Al had accidentally gotten them lost when the store they'd been looking for wasn't that far from the book store at all. Anne was not only taken aback by Deidre's show of concern as the older girl enveloped her in a hug, but seemed almost afraid about it; as though some deep secret might be accidentally revealed by the girls caring for her friend. "Can you forgive me?" She asked in a soft whisper her face bare inches away from Anne's.

"Sure, sure." Anne hastily agreed shooting Deidre a look and trying to push her back. "Just let me go ok." She pleaded equally softly as she eyed the rest of the girls in embarrassment; fortunately Kimber was too preoccupied with Allan to notice this display and Al was a little too preoccupied trying to handle her. She returned his camera with a smile on her lips and then offered a quick kiss, which Al clearly didn't like very much; although there was something briefly revealed in his eyes.

"You've got a way with kids." Kimber observed in a low whisper.

"Natch." He returned with a nervous grin. "So we've got the drums then?" He asked.

"Yeah; the owner kindly had them taken to the van." Krissie announced. "Ashley and Terri went with them they should be back…" She trailed off as the two girls happened to return at just that moment; Ashley glaring at both Anne and Deidre as if she knew something, Terri looking a little relieved that nothing bad had happen to them while they were separated from adult supervision. Al clapped his hands together to get the groups attention and smiled excitedly; for some reason he was beginning to feel keyed up.

"So what's next?" He wondered.

"It's a surprise." Kimber replied causing his face to fall a little; the way the other girls were now eyeing him made him squirm all the more as Kimber took him by the arm and began to lead him along the way.

"Why do I feel like I just woke up on the Titanic?" He mumbled more to himself then anyone else not realizing that Anne was right beside him.

"Past life experience." She suggested in a soft whisper; he glanced down at her in some surprise his eyebrow quirking up kind of like Spock's had a habit of doing on Star Trek, he was a little concerned that the girl was keeping close to him, but he chalked it up to her having found a kindred spirit and so dismissed those concerns effortlessly.

* * *

As we neared the location Kimber slapped her hand over my eyes; I would have mentioned that, that wouldn't really help since my enhanced senses gave me a heightened sense of my surroundings. But that wouldn't have mattered much anyway; besides that didn't mean I could see with my eyes closed, just that I knew which direction I was going.

"We're here." She proclaimed removing her hand from my eyes; I felt my mouth fall open and my legs buckled a little as they locked up.

"Oh no." I gasped in half real terror, half mock terror; the giggling girls behind me didn't help matters either, turning to Kimber I found her smiling mischievously and I sighed. "Ok, ok, but nothing… Outrageous." I accepted with a small smirk as I tested that word out for myself; after all I should have expected this.

"Come on would we do that to you?" Kimber asked with a sly grin; I merely shrugged and led the way boldly into the men's outlet store, if they wanted to have me try on new clothes I could live with it, but if any underwear modeling was involved forget it.

* * *

I stepped out of the dressing room fifteen minutes later wearing shorts and a tee-shirt; I had to admit I should have bought some of these in New York, but it wasn't as hot as it was here. The girls were as serious as they could be; for about five seconds, then they burst into a fit of giggles at the expression on Kimber's face. She eyed me with a ravishing smile and a lust filled twinkle in her eyes; she indicated that I should turn around and I complied with a silent sigh.

"Definitely fetching." She remarked approvingly with a grin causing the girls to giggle once more.

"Yeah it's pretty good." I agreed turning to head back in; Kimber grabbed my arm.

"Hold it; you gotta try this next." She insisted holding up the equivalent of a male bikini; I shot her an incredulous stare and shook my head.

"No way." I stated emphatically.

"Please." She insisted batting her eyelids at me sweetly; I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head yet again.

"I am not a piece of meat." I stated narrowing my eyes in obvious disgust; there were just some lines I refused to cross, even if it did fill my male ego up a little.

"But how can you use the pool back home without them?" Ba Nee asked; I eyed the girl suspiciously before my head sagged in silent shame.

"I can't swim." I murmured knowing it was too low for them to hear.

"What?" Deidre asked cupping her hand over her ear and eyeing me expectantly.

"I can't swim." I admitted loud enough this time. "I mean sure I can dog paddle and keep my head above water, but I'm aqua phobic when it comes to putting my head under water." I elaborated with a dejected sigh; the girls were smirking behind their hands now pleased at having weaseled that out of me not that they found my phobia amusing, but Kimber reached up and patted my shoulder.

"It's ok you don't have to swim, but I still think you should try this on, just in case." She encouraged no longer attempting to force the issue; she left them hanging on the dressing room door and herded the girls over to the cash register to wait until I'd switched back to my regular clothes. I shrugged and took them in; I guess Kimber had gotten sobered by my admitting to such an obvious weakness, at least for an adult. I grudgingly tried them on in the privacy of the dressing room and was amazed to find that they fit me like a glove; Kimber sure knew how to pick the right size. And I'd never worn anything like these before; I never had the figure to support the look and now I was finding that I rather enjoyed them, so what the hell you only live once.  
I took them the three tee-shirts and two pairs of shorts over to the cashier careful to keep them hidden so the others didn't see me buying them; after all I didn't need any more complications where Kimber's feelings were concerned.

* * *

After we made my unexpected purchase we still had a good two hours before having to meet up with Jerrica and the others; and I was beginning to think it would be nice if I could check out something for myself, but I had others to consider.

"So now what?" I wondered fervently hoping the clothing extravaganza was officially over.

"I don't know; we kind of finished earlier then I expected." Kimber admitted with a shrug; the girls made sounds of agreement and I paused in my walking as I contemplated the options.

"Amy." I suddenly blurted as recollection hit yet again; I'd almost forgotten about her coming over during that whole impromptu fashion show.

"Your adopted daughter?" Ashley wondered.

"She gets to visit me next week." I explained. "I should get her a gift."

"Wow; we're gonna get to meet her?" Ba Nee asked her tone bubbling with excitement.

"Yeah." I confirmed with a warm smile.

"Outrageous!" Kimber exclaimed startling me as she gave me a little hug; honestly she was getting as bad as the Delaneys with her flirtatious behavior, at least they never kissed me.

"Is she a mutant too?" Anne asked careful to keep her voice low; I cringed slightly if I didn't tell them about Amy she'd have to use her watch disguise inside the mansion. Not to mention hide her carnivorous nature; I glanced around and let out a sigh.

"We'll talk about that in the van ok?" I insisted; the girls nodded and I perked up at the thought of surprising her with something special. "Now what would she really like?" I mused aloud.

"Being with you." Terri stated softly; I glanced at her with a sad smile.

"If only it were possible besides these visitations." I remarked in a wistful tone. "How I've missed my little one." I added. "We need to think of a better present though."

"How old is she?" Kimber wondered; now there was a conflicting question mainly because it had a complicated answer if I was completely honest.

"Eight." I finally replied; she looked eight and she could pass for eight intellectually wise.

"How about some roller blades?" Ashley suggested.

"Er well…" I trailed off; the others seemed to get the point and resumed thinking up ideas.

"A new dress." Deidre suggested.

"A Barbie doll." Ba Nee offered.

"A Jem and the Holograms signed CD." Terri chimed in; I chuckled at these suggestions, they were quite helpful even if they were a little impractical since Amy didn't like dolls, happened to have a tail and didn't know who Jem and the Holograms were.

"What about a book?" Anne wondered; the others made funny faces at that, but I seriously considered it.

"I'm afraid I don't know what she likes to read anymore if anything." I returned shooting the Goth a grateful smile.

"Maybe an instrument." Krissie remarked; a contemplative look crossed over my features and I wondered if Amy might like something like that.

"So many options and not a clue what to do." I recited as if it were poetry; Kimber laughed as we rounded the next bend I was afraid I'd never figure it out until I saw a store. Not just any store; a store that caused my eyes to light up with my inner child and a smile to cross my lips.

"I just had an epiphany." I whispered heading towards the entrance; I was about to go in when Kimber grabbed my arm.

"You're serious?" She asked incredulously.

"Why not?" I returned with a blank stare.

"Well don't you think she'd like something from the heart?" Kimber asked with a small smile.

"I suppose you're right." I admitted with a sigh. "Honestly; I was really only interested for myself." I chuckled with a grin; after all it was quite some time since I'd last been inside a Disney store and I was a Disney aficionado aside from my other less accessible hobbies.

"Can we get lunch now?" Terri asked.

"Sure." Kimber replied as my stomach suddenly let out a low growl; glancing at my watch I saw it was two fifteen.

"I've still got five days before she's supposed to arrive anyway." I spoke up; the group as a whole changed directions.

"Oh great I'm starving." Ashley remarked rubbing her stomach a little; this caused the rest of the group to laugh aloud aside from Kimber and me; I let Kimber lead the way and soon everyone was seated in the food court enjoying a good lunch. While we were eating the others showed up unexpectedly; Jerrica grinned when she saw my camera, which I was using once again since I was done eating before the others and the store close by happened to be selling Jem and the Holograms CDs, so I decided to get a close up of the front window.

"I see Video managed to convert you." She remarked as Rio went to get some of their group food of their own.

"So you ran into her too." I surmised switching the camera off and placing it back over my shoulder.

"Yes and Clash was still pestering her." Jerrica returned with a frown; I nodded in understanding and lounged back slightly.

"That man keeps staring at us." Anne whispered with a shudder; I knew he'd been there for some time, but I'd hoped none of the others would notice.

"Don't pay any attention to him." Jerrica stated the fear clear in her tone.

"Yes it'll only make him stare harder." Ba Nee added sagely; unfortunately I knew that wouldn't work, just as I recognized the man without his mask or customary Gi on. Climbing to my feet with angry narrowed eyes I marched purposefully over to him my knuckles cracking audible to the girls as I left. Once I was standing before him he bowed his head in a show of respect and I was hard pressed to return the gesture out of habit.

"Mister Rutherford." He greeted; as soon as I heard his voice I knew my recognition had not been off.

"Arashikage." I returned knowing it would be stupid to use his code name in public.

"The Snake believed you'd benefit from these." He stated passing a small folder to me hidden from view from our table; I took it with a low growl and grabbed him be the collar of his shirt.

"How did you know where I went?" I demanded; his expression didn't change, but he effortlessly broke free of my grip and twisted my arm behind my back. Not an easy feat with my own extensive warrior's training; I felt bone snap and I grimaced slightly in pain unwilling to cry out.

"That is none of your concern; we have respected your wishes for privacy, however it was necessary this one time to inform you of certain developments." He stated before releasing me and vanishing into the mall; I sighed twisting my arm back into place carefully so it could heal properly.

"Ninjas." I muttered in disgust; was it any wonder GIJoe's fan base was growing sick and tired of all the Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow love.

"You knew that man?" Jerrica demanded when I returned.

"Not formally, I just recognized his type." I replied with a wince as I felt the bone re-knitting.

"He broke your arm." Rio exclaimed; I sighed and Jerrica pulled Rio closer to whisper in his ear. His eyes widened in surprise only briefly and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Sorry." He apologized.

"It's nothing; however I guess it was pretty stupid of me to think I could keep it a secret for long." I groaned as my arm fully healed; removing the folder carefully so as not to draw attention to it I examined the contents and raised my eyebrows in surprise. I should have realized GIJoe would be monitoring Cobra Commander; after all they had to know what he looked like under that mask too since it was deemed classified all the time on his File Card and stuff.  
"Prime; now all I need is to meet Destro, the Baroness and Zartan and my life can be complete." I murmured to myself sarcastically.

"I suppose since we're all done we can leave early." Jerrica stated with a smile; the girls all agreed eyeing me expectantly, looks like my group let the cat out of the bag already concerning Amy. Climbing to their feet they waited until we adults were ready and then we all headed back to the Starlight Express; once there Kimber eyed me sweetly again and I was just about to head for the drivers seat when Rio beat me to it.

"I am so going to get you for that." I hissed as the girls began to pile in.

"Come on Al; Kimber's a great girl." He returned as Jerrica patted his arm. "And when you're dating a Benton you're dating the best." He added shooting his girlfriend a warm smile; I sighed dejectedly, but relented to my fate. Kimber climbed in last taking her earlier perch on my lap and Rio pulled out heading for Starlight Mansion.

"So now can you tell us about Amy?" Ba Nee asked bouncing in her seat with excitement.

"Who's Amy?" Rio asked.

"Mister Rutherford's adopted daughter." Nancy supplied in a shy voice; the girl did seem to have a problem speaking up very often.

"That's a surprise; I would have thought you'd have a daughter named Florence or something." He quipped a huge smile crossing over his features; I smiled myself at the good natured barb and shook my head.

"Yeah well life has a way of making crazy changes; besides why would I want to doom my daughter with that kind of name?" I returned chuckling at my own little joke; somewhere I bet Q was just laughing at my own Earth nine twenty-nine last name, it wasn't something I would have picked personally. Then again it beats Wyndum-Price or Potter. "Amy is the kind of mutant whose powers manifested at birth causing a physical change; she is quite agile and enjoys gymnastics because of this. It's sort of linked to her powers actually, the gymnastics thing, yeah so right…"

"You're babbling Al." Kimber pointed out breaking off my stammering. "It can't be that bad."

"No; it's just I'm worried how you'll react." I admitted with a sigh, which wasn't actually true; I was just trying to decide whether or not I should admit to the truth.

"The problems of being a parent sometimes." Jerrica observed sagely. "Please you can trust us to be discreet and respectful of whatever she may look like." She continued turning slightly so she could shoot me an encouraging smile.

"Ok." I conceded taking three deep breaths and plunging in. "Amy has certain characteristics attributed to a feline; she has different shaped feet with padded souls and four toes, hence why roller blades were a bad idea for a gift. She's got pointed tipped ears, slightly, golden hued eyes, which are slitted as a feline's. Aquamarine colored hair, no fingernails or toenails, but her claws haven't developed fully yet, a three feet long tail which is more like a simians then a cats due to its' dexterity… Oh and she's completely carnivorous." I got out in one huge breath; the complete silence that followed made me squirm and fidget in nervous apprehension, had I said too much perhaps? Finally someone had the courage to speak.

"Outrageous." Kimber exclaimed smiling at me with warmth and kindness.

"Does she purr?" Ba Nee wondered.

"Only in her sleep." I replied with a fond smile. "It's so cute and the way she exudes such innocence and adoration, she's so affectionate nuzzling you like a cat would and sometimes requesting that you pet her…" The girls giggled now at the goofy expression on my face and I blushed slightly.

"What about going out in public?" Terri asked her face contorted slightly with a look of worry for her fellow eight year old.

"A… Friend of mine has access to sophisticated alien technologies; she… Gave her a holographic imaging system so she looks and feels like a normal human girl." I explained catching the sudden interest Jerrica, Kimber and surprisingly Rio shared at the word holographic. "Oh and I forgot to mention; for some weird reason she has tiny horns on her head." I added suddenly remembering that particular aspect of her species; it sure was hard pretending she was a mutant.

"Why?" Joellen wondered.

"Er… No one's been able to figure that out yet." I replied lying yet again; the rest of the girls accepted this and soon began to talk amongst themselves. Kimber shifted in my lap and patted my arm sensing the sudden hurt I was feeling; though most likely not attributing it to how crummy I felt for continuously lying to these people who were accepting me without judgment.

"Holographic you say." Rio suddenly remarked. "Ah… What, er… Kind exactly?" He asked.

"I believe it is somewhat similar to that medical tool I used this morning." I returned knowing that I couldn't lie anymore, it was destroying the nice guy inside of me; at least I could stay close to the truth without outright saying that it was Starfleet technology. "Basically it generates a three dimensional image over Amy and is sophisticated enough that anyone shaking her hand or the like when she's wearing it feels what you'd expect from a normal human being." I explained.

"Solid holograms." Jerrica blurted. "That's, ah… Impossible, isn't it?"

"Not for my friend; you'd be surprised what you can do with…" I trailed off and shook my head. "Not for my friend." I repeated with a knowing smirk; I then tuned out to the girl's chatter and instead just looked out the window watching the scenery breeze past as we returned to the highway. I began to lose myself in thoughts; nothing exact or precise just simple little musings, for instance if the Ghostbusters ever had three hit films instead of two in this universe. I was so lost in thought that I didn't even realize when we'd arrived until Kimber cleared her throat startling me.

"Though I don't mind you holding onto my like this Al, we are home again." She remarked teasingly; I snapped back to reality with a blush and relinquished my vice-like grip on the woman.

* * *

Meanwhile at Misfits Music, Eric Raymond was in a right state; sales were dropping again and Harvey was getting on his case about losing even more money. But Eric couldn't sell this place to anyone; not even Paramount had been interested and he'd offered to practically give it away, no he was stuck. There were no options left; it was either destroy the place and collect the insurance or file for Chapter Eleven. And not even Techrat could make this place go up as if it were an accident; Eric sighed there was only one last thing he had to do before going public, inform the Misfits. In fact he'd just told them a few minutes ago and they were all in shock.

"NO, NO, NO! I won't have it Eric; I won't go out like this!" Pizzazz practically shrieked hurling his phone across the room and out the window shattering glass sifted down onto the formerly well maintained carpet.

"There's nothing for it girls; your music just isn't selling like it used to." He calmly returned cringing as Pizzazz smashed his desk lamp to the floor.

"You have to fix this; it's all Jem's fault, have Techrat do something really nasty to her." She demanded stomping about his office throwing the biggest fit of all as she continued to break everything in sight.

"He's gone Pizzazz; I had to let him go." Eric admitted calmly rising from his seat and snatching the briefcase before Pizzazz could, he was getting too old for this. "It's over." He finished before leaving the office for what he knew to be the last time; he winced as he heard the sound of even more breaking glass and Pizzazz's angry shrieks, obviously she'd just tossed his desk out another of the large windows.

"Over? But what are we going to do now?" Stormer wondered surprised at how quiet Roxy was being; Pizzazz didn't listen she was going on and on about Jem and how it was all her fault, Stormer was at a complete loss she'd never seen Pizzazz act this bitter before. And it frightened her when she began to spew off about maybe hiring some goons to find Jem and rape her; that was going just too far in her opinion, but she was too scared to say anything.

"You three are pathetic." A new voice piped up as Clash; who had been standing in the corner quietly this whole time, finally voiced her opinion. "You knew this couldn't last forever." She added with a sneer. "Even Jetta got out before your fans turned on you because she wasn't stupid enough to believe this gravy train could hold up against the likes of Brittany Spears or…" Pizzazz grabbed her by the throat suddenly and slapped her up against the wall knocking the wind from her.

"You know something; you know how Jem did it don't you!" She screamed; Clash struggled to get loose fear in her eyes now as she caught the deranged look in Pizzazz's own steely gaze, but it appeared hopeless until Roxy slammed into Pizzazz and knocked her to the ground.

"Jem didn't do a damn thing; we did, by not changing with the times. By constantly trying to one up her and by being nothing, but petty and selfish our entire career… Except maybe Stormer here." She preached glaring coldly at Pizzazz; the spoiled rich bitch was staring at her former staunchest supporter with surprise as Roxy looked upon her with self-loathing for the first time in her eyes. "Eric's right Phyllis; it is over, and we let it happen. Our career was a joke from day one; our rivalry with Jem may have been good for publicity at the time, but now it's just tired and old. You've been so blinded by your contempt for her and her band that you never once stopped to think about what could happen down the road, and I; like the idiot I was didn't try to stop you or stop myself from hating, we're not teenagers any more… Grow up Pizzazz." She snapped before turning and heading out; Clash was quick to follow something in her eyes as she looked briefly to Pizzazz a fleeting glance of one whose emotions betrayed her. But Stormer hung back concern in her eyes as she looked upon someone she'd counted as friend and saw the deep hurt and tears in her eyes.

"Are you ok?" She asked in a soft whisper.

"Just go." Pizzazz spat her tone laced with defeat and poison all wrapped up together; Stormer sighed and took her leave, Pizzazz sat in silence in the ruined office as the sun slowly began to sink in the west. She stared about at the mess she'd made and soon broke down into bitter tears as she realized at last what a mess her life was; and the only person she had to blame for it was herself.

* * *

After dinner I was sitting in the living room examining my camera and the footage I'd shot when Anne came into the room looking decidedly nervous, a small binder in hand.

"Al." She called tentatively; I glanced up and took note of the binder, which contained a thick stack of paper. "Could you maybe read this for me?" She requested with hope filled eyes.

"Sure no problem kiddo." I accepted her work with a friendly smile and put aside the camera; I started to read slowly and Anne left, when I was sure she was gone I went into speed read mode and finished in point nine seven seconds. She had quite a talent; though a part of me wondered why her protagonist was so young, perhaps like me she wrote herself into the part. It certainly made sense; well it was getting late and I could seriously use a rest, ok so it was only nine o' clock, but I was feeling a little drained from my revelation filled day and mentally exhausted from having to keep so many secrets in check no thanks to Storm Shadow. So I decided to head upstairs for some much needed downtime; as I neared the door however I couldn't help, but here something that brought me a little up short.

"Deidre what are you doing here?" Anne's voice demanded from the room next to mine; _uh oh I sure hope that isn't more trouble_.

"I wanted to apologize again for this afternoon at the mall." Deidre replied in a hushed regretful tone; I smiled no disaster just a friend coming to apologize in person, doing my best to ignore them I slowly began to open my door.

"Well you should; that really hurt, especially coming from you." Anne shot back causing my legs to slow down as once more I found my curiosity getting the better of me, _just why should it hurt so much coming from this girl in particular and why the hell should I care_? Perhaps it was the fact that there was audibly something recognizable in the thirteen and twelve year olds' tones, something I couldn't pinpoint precisely at this junction.

"I know babe, can you please forgive me?" Deidre pleaded; my eyes widened involuntarily in shocked embarrassment as at last all the clues to the puzzle fitted in place, I'd noticed something earlier when the incident had occurred. And now I recalled how emotional Deidre had been; I desperately tried to stop myself from listening in, but now I was hooked and once begun it is decidedly unsimplistic to cease eavesdropping.

"I don't know." Anne countered her voice cracking; _this was wrong, this was so wrong… Ok; the basic principles behind a matter, anti-matter warp core are, are, are… Don't freeze on me now oh super intellect of mine, come on focus_.

"What if I made it up by staying in your room tonight?" Deidre wondered in a mischievous and sultry tone; these girls were obviously just starting to explore their growing sexuality and had discovered that they preferred the company of other girls instead of boys, I definitely should not be listening in on this… _The holodeck imaging system generates images garnered from photonic light held together with sophisticated force fields and, and…_

"It's a start." Anne replied in a low happy murmur. "As long as none of the others find out about it; I know they're tolerant, but I don't think the adults would approve of our taking such steps as sleeping together even though we haven't done… It before." She added sounding nervous and obviously torn by her inexperienced mindset… _A TRANSPORTER! Breaks subject Alpha down on a molecular level at point A reducing the physical corporeal being into trillions of particles of energy and stores them into a complex pattern buffer before being redirected to point B… How does that work again? Some kind of Sub-Space fold… Oh it doesn't matter, feet of mine now would be a good time to resume walking; and audios kindly cease this before I really get sore, why does my body betray me!_

"I know; if anyone ever did find out we'd probably be in so much trouble, what with the impressionable younger girls in the rooms near ours and all." Deidre whispered with a tiny giggle as the telltale sounds of a spring mattress could be heard as her weight was applied.

"Shut up and kiss me already." Anne whispered back in what she believed was a loving tone, but was really no more then a passionate inexperienced lust filled tone; with a very low moan I finally regained focus of my body and promptly ceased eavesdropping. Entering my room I immediately turned to the door I'd just closed behind me and proceeded to bang my head into it several times. The biggest guilt trip of all hit me and I knew my face was a crimson red mess; my mind kept wanting to visualize the actions to coincide with the words that had come from the room, but I at least kept some semblance of order in this chaotic swell and I had the distinct feeling a certain omnipotent pest was laughing gaily at my misfortune.

"Q; if this is your idea of… Well I don't know what, but whatever it was, is or will be take heart I shall do all in my power to enact revenge, this I promise you." I hissed softly so as not to disturb or make known my presence; and then I quickly got undressed and practically flew into bed, I really shouldn't feel so embarrassed after all it was a natural part of life… True a natural part that I shouldn't be privy to, but one all the same; the problem was I'd overheard a private conversation and no matter how I rationalized it in coldly logical fashion it would be some time before I could look at those two again without breaking out into a crimson blush.  
"I hate this; I mean God did create Love to be a joyous thing so I really shouldn't feel guilt or shame at having discovered that even here it is practiced… But no matter what part of me feels like a dirty old man for overhearing that… And if I wasn't a damn machine I wouldn't have… Bloody Borg; sodding Audios, rust infected Nanoprobes… Sometimes, I hate my life." I trailed off as I quickly lost myself to the peaceful sleep I enjoyed my body growing completely rigid and my breathing becoming almost machine-like in its regularity.

* * *

"Q you are positively abominable." Roma remarked with a secret twinkle in her eye. "To subjugate him to such a cruel and malicious prank." She added in a half-hearted attempt at scolding the irascible one.

"Come now where would the fun be if I never got to tease him with embarrassing revelations; besides it'll help him grow closer with those two in the long run." He countered with that mischievous twinkle in his eye, defending his actions.

"He wasn't amused." Saturnyne pointed out. "And I fail to see how it will make him grow closer to them, or why you should even want that." She added haughtily.

"Well of course not; the fun is all for my benefit, do you have any idea how boring it is now that he's here and I have a kid." Q remarked with an overly dramatic sigh. "I have to do something to make sure I don't lose the old Q touch; and besides you're not supposed to understand why he should be closer to them, you aren't gifted with all knowing knowledge of his particular future, I'm just setting things up for his… Aha now that would spoil the surprise." He added wagging his finger in a scolding manner before snapping out.

"That one." Saturnyne began only to be cut off by Roma.

"Pay it no mind." She stated. "At least despite Q he is managing to mostly enjoy himself." She added proudly, happily, when she saw how conflicted he'd become she knew he'd needed something of this type. Saturnyne sighed at the words of her mistress, but simply left the room; no point in voicing her concerns yet again.

To Be Continued; **Well this is only the second day of Al's little stay away from New York and already there's been some... Interesting developments shall we say, Decepticons, Autobots, Storm Shadow from Cobra popping up and let's not forget the Misfits' going under. Whatever will our hero face in this not so adventurous of tales? And how long can he keep lying to his new friends before he totally loses his cool and reveals the secrets he's trying desperately to hide? Find out in the next exciting chapter; and please R&R folks... And no flaming if you don't like characters of a Slash varitey; or if you think those two girls are too young to be involved in such a scene/relationship, women all develop at their own time after all and despite their being twelve and thirteen they actually might just be a lot older thanks in part to a certain thing involving Marvel Earths known as the Amanda Rogers touch. Maybe I'll explain that cryptic quote some time, happy reading folks and please don't give up on my story if you have a problem with the last couple of scenes, I promise you scenes of that nature are extremely few and far between.**


	5. Chapter 5 Poolside Combat!

**Author's Notes:** I just realized; all these massive updates and now reviews, maybe there's too much story for my readers to get through in one sitting and that's why I haven't been getting any reviews... Or maybe they're just too buys and haven't even seen the updates yet; in which case man are they going to have a lot to catch up on by the time they get back. **Chuckles**  
In this exciting action filled chapter you will bare witness to... KUNG FU FIGHTING! Al style; and when you can literally make yourself move faster by erecting low-yield Gravity fields, well I don't want to give Al anymore nicknames, but if he ever meets The Flash, then DC's red spandex clad speedster better watch out. And now without further ado; Chapter Five! Please R&R I'm beggin' ya I need feedback if I'm going to keep updating and I mean it; no reviews this time and don't expect any updates until somebody reviews. **Wags index finger at the readers**

* * *

As Al got out of the shower the next morning he seriously began to contemplate if he should let Jerrica or one of the others know what he'd inadvertently overheard last night, or perhaps if he should confront the two girls. But confront them with what? It was harmless after all; they were merely doing what all teenagers eventually did, experiment… And if they'd discovered that they had a preference for girls instead of guys who was he to butt in? Mister 'no actual relationship experiences to speak of; except for a really satisfying fling with a Goddess… He found himself smirking at that last thought and quickly finished drying himself off so that he could get downstairs for breakfast. "_Definitely beginning to seem different from the cartoons_." His door suddenly flew open while he was shrugging into one of his new tee-shirts and a squeal of surprise forced him to hurry up so he could actually see who had barged in.

"Becky?" He wondered aloud surprised to see the fourteen year old in his doorway; her cheeks were slightly flushed and the thought kept intruding in her head about what might have happened if she'd gotten there earlier when he was putting his pants on, after all he was a sexy guy.

"Oh right." She snapped out of her silent stupor embarrassedly and quickly remembered what she'd rushed up here to do. "You gotta come quick; you just gotta see the news." She insisted racing back out without so much as a backward glance; Al did not know what to expect, but he fervently hoped that it had nothing to do with Apocalypse coming to town or something equally dangerous.

* * *

"That's right after fifteen years on the scene The Misfits are no longer in business; last night Eric Raymond the head of Misfits' Music filed for Chapter Eleven." The reporter was reiterating as Al entered the room; the Starlight Girls cheered only to quickly hush up at the stern looks Jerrica and the others shot their way.

"We tried to get an interview with members of the band to clarify what the problem was, but we couldn't even find them for comment."

"That can't be good." Al remarked startling the others with the amount of concern in his tone.

"What do you mean?" Ashley demanded. "It's great."

"When people lose their jobs, their very way of life; no matter how obnoxious and rude they may be or have been it is not cause for celebration." He snapped back startling himself with how he'd reacted even more so then the girls.

"But, the Misfits." Delaree began confusedly.

"Are still people with hearts and feelings too." Jerrica reminded shooting each girl a reproachful look; the girls nodded in consent and openly apologized for their behavior.

"We didn't think." Marianne observed for the whole group; Al left for the kitchen seeing as how he was the last one up again and was decidedly very hungry, it was time to get some breakfast before the rumblings of his stomach were overheard by the others.

* * *

I ate quickly and in silence uncertain as to the girls plans for today; when I'd finished I found myself going to get my camera once more, no sense in letting it go to waste. I'd gotten the hang of it now anyway; slipping it over my shoulder and placing the spare memory cartridges in my pocket I returned to the living room only to find Anne, Ashley, Deidre, Krissie and Delaree setting up some instruments.

"Say what's up?" I wondered.

"Marianne and Nancy have dentist appointments this morning so we didn't make any group plans." Krissie informed as she finished connecting the keyboard.

"So the others are off doing whatever they want." Ashley added eyeing Anne with a hint of jealousy as she tuned up Deidre's' guitar… _Oh joy a love triangle; how cute, not_.

"Mind if I get your practice on video?" I asked smiling at the reaction that stirred; Ashley and Delaree shot fearful looks at the others and vice versa until Krissie finally struck up the courage to respond.

"Promise not to laugh if we sound bad?" She demanded.

"Hey I'm not one to critique; I can't play a note." I returned with a chuckle; that was true at least I had no talent, my vocal circuits could mimic anything and I could at least approximate a decent singing voice, but no way could I play an instrument despite taking guitar lessons in the seventh and eighth grades.

"Ok then." Ashley agreed clapping her hands together.

"Why don't we try that crazy theme song Delaree cooked up?" Deidre suggested; the others nodded and I quickly got my camera ready as Anne moved to the couch, they began to play and my jaw almost dropped. Not because they were bad; far from it, they had talent, but the song… The song they were playing was one of the actual themes from Jem and the Holograms the cartoon.

"Me and my friends are Jem girls, Jem, Jem is my name!" Deidre began the song off in a light tempo. "Exciting adventure, fashion and fame; once you're a Jem girl, you're never the same." Ashley came in on the second verse and I found myself taken aback at just how good their voices were; the four of them could start a band of their own some day and I'd wager anything they would. "Come on, come on and be a Jem girl; Jem, Jem is my name." Krissie added in her vocals and an almost perfect harmony was reached; I had to keep flicking back and forth to get close ups of each girl so I could recall this moment with fondness when I left. "Me and my friends are Jem girls; Jem, Jem is my name! Truly outrageous, that's a Jem girl; glamour, fashion and fame. Exciting adventure, fashion and fame; once you're a Jem girl you're never the same." By now Delaree had added in her vocals and I was considerably taken aback with how they sounded as a group; it was a tone that was not all together unpleasant and yet could still use a little picking up in certain areas, such as Delaree's tempo problems.  
"Come on, come on and be a Jem girl; Jem, Jem is my name." They finished all as one with the almost silent Jem at the end being either forgotten or not added as of yet. I had felt Anne suddenly shift her sights on me early on during the song and I fought to maintain some dignity; if I'd known however that I was silently sub-consciously mouthing along to the words I might have managed to avoid totally freaking her out.

"That was good." I complimented as the song ended; and the girls beamed with pride.

"You really think so?" Delaree asked.

"Definitely." I returned giving them a thumbs up; the girls all smiled except Anne, she was eyeing me suspiciously. "Though I did notice Delaree that your tempo was a bit off; or maybe it was just my hearing, my ears tend to be capable of detecting even the minutest of imperfections." I hastily added so as not to upset any of the girls.

"You're ears don't lie." Delaree returned sheepishly. "I practice day and night and I still have trouble keeping up with the tempo… I think I've got some kind of disease or something." She added, I shook my head about to voice something when Aja interrupted us.

"Al." Her voice called suddenly; I glanced around and saw her in the open window, which I hadn't noticed earlier because I'd been too focused with the girls.

"Yeah?" I wondered moving closer so we didn't have to yell so loudly.

"An emergencies' come up at Starlight Music; one of our other singers… She's had a slight accident and since Jerrica's left for the dentist Shana and I have to see to this." Aja explained in a hurried voice as Shana pulled around to the front with the Roadster; I felt a strange child-like giddiness at seeing it so close and whipped my camera up for a close up. "Lela's watching the others out back, but if you could check in every once and a while?" She continued hiding the smile at my Video-like activity.

"No problem man." I promised switching effortlessly into a Jamaican accent for no real reason other then my loony kind of attitude at the moment.

"Thanks; Kimber's around here too somewhere, but I didn't have time to look for her." She explained before dashing over to the car and hopping in; Shana took off impatiently and I filmed their departure for the hell of it.

"Man it sure is hectic around here some days." I remarked lowering the camera and flicking it off; Ashley came up beside me and nodded.

"Always has been." She agreed with a slight sigh.

"Are we gonna practice some more or what?" Deidre demanded; Ashley snapped out of her reverie and shot a glare at her friend.

"Sure, sure." She growled moving back to the microphone as the others began to play again; I smiled and hurriedly reactivated the camera, Jody, my cousin would never believe this otherwise.

* * *

Two more songs later I was getting a little edgy; as if something was prickling the back of my neck with eight hairy legs, I slapped at it, but it wasn't real. I was only experiencing a strange feeling of dread though I didn't know why. Then as the last traces of music faded from my hearing I realized what it was; I couldn't hear the girls splashing around in the pool out back, but I was picking up almost silent whimpers and course harsh voices whispering to one another. Leaping to my feet I dropped the camera and memory cartridges I'd been in the process of swapping and raced for the back door; Ashley and the others were taken by complete surprise.

"Let's follow him." Anne exclaimed racing after him; the others shrugged and followed suit.

* * *

Al dashed through the back door and through the garden; as he came around the side of the house where the tennis court and swimming pool were kept he caught sight of a few plain looking sedans. He skidded to a halt as he saw the man known to him by the name Zipper and about eighteen of his goons standing around the other five girls making plans; Lela, Becky, Joellen, Ba Nee and Terri were each tied up with lengths of chain. Their hands behind their backs and their legs pinned together; each one also had a thick cloth stuffed in their mouths and secured by a second cloth that was wrapped around their heads and secured with double knots that were obviously painfully biting into the sides of the girl's cheeks.  
His eyes flared with a rage he hadn't experienced since Illyana Rasputin was caught in a crossfire during the B.A.T incident back in New York and brief flashes of electricity danced unseen around his fingertips. The girls looked up with sudden renewed hope their eyes filled with tears; Terri in particular looked extremely relieved and struggled futilely trying to regain her freedom despite the pain the chains caused her biting into her flesh.

"Who's that guy?" A particularly dense looking chocolate brown skinned ape asked.

"Who cares; just get him before he ruins the plan." Zipper ordered hastily picking up the struggling Terri and shoving her into the olive green convertible where she screamed muffled begging Al to help her with her eyes.

"You're gonna be sorry when I get through wit' ya." A scrappy looking Asian remarked grinning from ear to ear; he leapt at Al intending to strike with a flying kick, Al didn't seem to be paying attention his head bowed and eyes closed in deep meditation. The Asian went flying alright; straight into the pool as Al moved impossibly fast and lashed out with a gut wrenching kick to the stomach, which knocked the wind from the shorter man. The next two attackers rushed him simultaneously; he spun on one heel so fast that he appeared to be standing still, the taller Caucasian was sent spiraling out of control by a punch to the chest and he collided with one of the decorative benches shattering it. The shorter goon who appeared to be Hispanic was even less fortunate; Al palm-slapped him so hard that his ribs cracked and he collapsed in a heap to the ground having trouble breathing.  
Next Al dove under a hulking brute with a balding pate and leather jacket cross chopping him in the chin and sending him flipping over into his companion, a short pale looking weasel with an iron pipe. Al then flipped over backwards seemingly seeing the man who came up behind him before the girls very eyes; Zipper was growing extremely nervous now, but he wasn't willing to run just yet even if this stranger could fight. Nodding to the ape-like Negro; man his companion grunted happily and cracked his knuckles in anticipation, Al didn't see him coming too busy was he avoiding the swirling chain in the grip of a real punker. The other five girls that had followed him were also in shock; Ashley screamed as she watched Delaree grabbed from behind kicking and thrashing in the man's grasp, Al turned just in time to meet the fist of the gorilla-man and he was sent hurtling into the pool head first vanishing from sight.Krissie and Anne turned to run as Ashley and Deidre were pinned and some of the surviving goons began to bring chains over to tie them up; only to be stopped by Zipper and the deceptively fast moving gorilla-man.  
That's when everyone heard the strange sound and all eyes involuntarily were drawn to the pool; the water was bubbling and churning as if being whipped up by something underneath, the little Asian man screamed as he was hurled out of the pool by an unknown force and lost consciousness slamming into the edge of the pool. Zipper, his goons and the Starlight Girls watched agape as Al seemed to levitate from the very waters that had seemingly ended his desperate rescue, his eyes were narrowed with rage and looked red thanks to the Chlorine in the water. He hovered there for what seemed like hours in silence and then the water behind him began to churn even faster; springing up with a roar from the man and assuming the form of a demonic beast, watery claws raked across the air and collected the foolish still standing near the pools edge. The watery beast bashed them about within its liquid form rendering them unconscious and leaving them littering the poolside before collapsing back into the concrete construct.

"Try that again." He dared speaking to the remaining would-be-kidnappers as he landed deftly back on solid ground; Zipper snarled at him while Gorilla-man marched forward, before he'd taken two steps one of the sedans flew through the air and slammed into him, Al had calculated that the man was some kind of mutant and his gamble paid off. An ordinary man would have been killed; Gorilla-man was simply knocked to the ground in a daze pinned beneath the car, Al then turned to those attempting to flee. The remaining sedans were torn asunder their frames collapsing in on them and their drive trains being hurled across the tree-tops like some kind of garish decoration. "Ah, ah, ah; nobodies getting away this time." He proclaimed wagging his right index finger as he spoke; leaping back into the air he flew headlong into the remaining group of kidnappers and became a flurry of motion, punches and kicks were seen moving at almost impossible speeds only tempered by Al's unwillingness to accidentally kill any of the fools. Zipper rushed to his car having the sense to at least try to run while Al was otherwise preoccupied; he didn't get far though even with the engine running, the chains wrapped around Terri unwound of their own accord rather gently and pinned the thuggish man to his seat. As further insurance his entire engine tore itself out and collapsed to the pavement; he glared up at Al as the man floated over to him.

"Filthy mutie scum; you're gonna owe me for a new car you…" He shut up as Al slammed his fist into the side of the man's head rendering him unconscious.

"There are impressionable young girls present; next time we wash your mouth out with soap." Al quipped sounding very tired as he knelt and picked Terri up removing the gag for her; she balled her hands into fists and buried her head into his shoulder weeping at how close she'd come to being abducted. Turning he found the other girls trying to free their friends; they'd managed to undo the gags, but the chains were just too tightly wound about their person.

"Stand back." He whispered feeling even more tired and revealing the depth of fear he'd been hiding from the thugs; getting a thorough dunking in the pool had scared him witless, if not for the fact that the girls had desperately needed him whole and hearty he might have given in to his panic and drown. Delaree, Deidre and Krissie complied while Ashley and Anne took a step closer to the Gorilla-man keeping an eye on him considering he was still semi-conscious; with a simple mental command the chains unwound around the girls hands and feet in a gentle almost tender fashion and piled up to one side Terri's former bonds joining them since Zipper wasn't going anywhere anymore.

"I'll call the police." Lela stated rushing towards the house.

"Allan." Becky whispered looking fearfully around her for a brief moment. "One of them went into the house after they got us and came back saying that he'd taken care of Kimber." She revealed in a terror filled tone.

"We'll spread out and search all the rooms." He stated turning and heading back to the house Terri still in his arms. "He probably only left her tied up somewhere." He surmised knowing that if Kimber had been harmed instead in any way; or lay bleeding to death, maybe even already dead then heaven help the son of a bitch that did it. He knew who was behind this; Eric Raymond, he probably got it into his head to hold all the girls for ransom so he could get some easy money, start over somewhere else. Which meant that damn phone call to Aja had been part of the ruse to get all of the adults out of the house; fortunately a certain Technorganic guest happened to be staying here just then.

"I'll check the basement." Deidre offered heading for the doorway leading downstairs.

"We'll all check the rooms downstairs; why don't you go upstairs?" Anne suggested to Krissie, Ba Nee, Terri and Al; the older man nodded and headed for the stairs his shoes squeaking with each step and making sick wet soppy noises, with a simple mental command he forced the water to cling to his person so as not to leak everywhere.

"That muscle bound ape owes me a new pair of shoes." He grumbled trudging up the stairs forcing himself to go beyond his limits, he was already desperately exhausted thanks to his little trick with the pools' water; it wasn't easy getting it to do something as complex as he'd done.

"How'd you do that?" Terri asked in a low whisper her tears spent and her curiosity getting the best of her; Al smiled down at the young girl.

"I never claimed to have only one mutant gift." He returned with a light chuckle. "I just never thought you girls would ever need to find out about the others." He added softly.

"Talk about an exciting and frightening morning." Krissie observed her face a little pale at the thought of what those men might have done to her and her friends had Al not been there.

"Seems to be the cardinal rule, at least once a day we have to face some sort of predicament; Decepticons, Kidnappers, weirdo guys at the mall who break my arm." Al remarked with a slight chuckle doing his best to alleviate the girls' fears with his patented good natured humor. At the top of the stairs he lowered Terri to the floor and looked both ways down the hall as though wondering where to start. "You check all the girl's rooms and I'll start with Jerrica's and make my way to the third floor ok?" The three girls nodded and headed down the hall beginning to search the rooms and calling out Kimber's name; Al sighed and went into Jerrica's room steeling his resolve for what he could find, though it wasn't a guarantee.

* * *

After a thorough search of the mansion no one had found anything; even when the police showed up and helped us search a second time, this left me to conclude there was only one place Kimber could be. So after helping haul the goons into the paddy wagon and seeing the police off; a feat made difficult due to my lack of energy, I made my way back to Jerrica's room. I stood listening for a few minutes and when I finally heard the soft sobs coming from behind the wall I knew my hunch had been right; somehow Kimber had gotten to Synergy, most likely to try and warn Jerrica.  
Stepping through the holographic disguise I smiled warmly as at last I found the wayward hologram; she was thoroughly chained up, thick coils wrapped all the way up her legs and over her waist coming around to pin her wrists behind her. I marveled at how she'd managed to get in here encumbered as she was; a similar gag to the girls covered her mouth and when she looked up at me with her red-rimmed eyes and tear soaked cheeks she didn't care that I was in a room I shouldn't be. Her eyes lit up with hope and I deftly, though gently, summoned her bonds off of her so that they coiled at my feet; she tore the disgusting gag off and ran over to me enveloping me in a hug and planting a kiss on me right then and there.

"The girls." She exclaimed after pulling away from me fear retuning to her tone; I smiled despite my awkward discomfort at her kiss and looked down into her eyes with an edge that hadn't been there before.

"Relax; I guess nobody thought to inform those social rejects I was staying here." I returned chuckling at her reaction and sub-consciously tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear where it had escaped from.

"But how? I saw how many there were before that one goon managed to catch up to me in Jerrica's room." Kimber explained eyeing me with great respect and a hint of something more.

"Oh, well…" I trailed off rubbing the back of my neck nervously. "I never… That is to say…" I stammered unwilling to admit I had lied to them concerning my powers and their origins.

"Oh of course you've got more then one power." Kimber guessed smiling winningly up at me. "Oh my God." She suddenly blurted as she realized where I was; she looked to Synergy and I took that as a cue to eye her as well. The image of the female template that represented Synergy's core consciousness was eyeing me warily; her entire bulk almost took up one wall and she looked like a combination synthesizer and stage light apparatus, much like her television show depiction actually. I merely smiled and semi-consciously wrapped an arm over Kimber's shoulder steering her back to the holographic wall.

"Come on; the girls are so worried they wouldn't eat lunch, let's go alleviate their fears." I suggested as we walked.

"But." Kimber protested eyeing both Synergy and me.

"What?" I wondered. "Is there something in this room I should be making a fuss over?" I added quirking my eyebrow as I always did at such times and smirking.

"Oh no; of course not." Kimber returned with a grateful smile resting her head in the crook of my shoulder; _what was I doing? All of these physical dealies between me and Kimber was not a good idea; especially if Rogue came around, I loved Rogue not Kimber and yet part of me was drawn to her and for this moment I was acting simply out of gratitude that she was alive… God; I think my male mind is focused just a little too much on something it shouldn't be, so, Pi to the eight-hundredth and ninth decimal point would be…_

* * *

"Oh well it was a long shot." Eric remarked with a sigh as he finished packing; he only had a few possessions left since the bankruptcy, amazing how the government always moved so fast in these matters. Perhaps he should have taken Cobra up on that offer; working for them might have been more profitable, to say nothing as to Zipper's little screw-ups. The fact that he was late in calling could mean only one thing; failure and failure could not be tolerated if he was to get out of town with his skin intact. He moved towards the front door of his building and opened it only to find a much taller person in a huge trench coat and hat standing there; he gulped nervously as he began to back away.

"We had a bargain human." The familiar tone stated as a seemingly ordinary Walter P-Thirty-Eight was leveled on him.

"Wait; give me another chance." Raymond pleaded in a terror stricken tone.

"Then or now Mister Raymond there will be no further betrayals." Megatron growled before Rumble pulled his trigger; the violet beam pierced Eric Raymond's heart vaporizing it instantly, death was painless and swift and no last thoughts ever reached the man's conscious mind. The twin suitcases fell from the corpses' hands and clattered to the floor of the run down duplex before Eric himself collapsed lifeless eyes staring at the ceiling. "Never send those who can not handle a simple task." Megatron stated before Rumble took to the air and he resumed his robotic form.

"So how do we get the Infinity Engine from that SHIELD helicarrier?" Rumble wondered moving swiftly to join his commander on their speedy retreat from the scene.

"Patience Rumble an opportunity shall present itself; for now let us be contented with the fact that at least Ratbat and his Energon production facility is still operational, Gabor's oil rich platforms shall serve us a few days longer I would imagine it will take time for the Autobots to attempt a counter-strike." Megatron replied with a sneer; Rumble nodded and glanced down at the speck of a house that could just be made out, he smirked wickedly and offered a parting shot blowing the roof apart and scattering concrete for two blocks. "A pity we could not prolong his suffering as I had intended, but such would be a waste of our valuable time and resources; now go meet up with Laserbeak, I must know the movements of Cobra they may attempt to move in on my prize." Megatron ordered; Rumble nodded and changed course rapidly heading towards a different location, Megatron smiled contentedly no matter what he was certain that the power he sought would become his and then may Primus help the Autobots… If he existed.

* * *

When I showed up with Kimber there was a chorus of joyous shouts and the girls practically swarmed us; Kimber explained that she'd been shoved under Jerrica's bed after being knocked unconscious and since no one had thought to look there of course we failed to find her, a lie easily propagated thanks to the fact that both times I'd searched Jerrica's room. Now that everyone was safe once again we got the girls to eat lunch; as we were finishing up Aja, Shana, Jerrica, Rio and the two dentist visitors rushed in. Aja was both angry and ashamed that she'd fallen for such an obvious trick, while Shana was doing her best not to break down in front of everyone. Rio slapped my shoulder hard showing his gratitude for nipping this plot in the bud and Jerrica practically squeezed the air out of my lungs after hugging her sister.

"Thank God you were here." She stated and I had a funny feeling she wasn't too far from the truth; why else would I be here in the right place at the right time?

"You're sopping wet." She observed pulling away from me; I snapped my fingers in sudden remembrance.

"I knew I was forgetting something." I muttered eyeing my wet clothes; with a simple thought all of the water still clinging to my person and soaking through my clothes swarmed above my hand into a large beach ball sized sphere. I sent it lazily over to the sink and let it splash down gently; it vanished down the drain and I slumped forward clutching the back of one of the chairs so I wouldn't fall to the floor, exhaustion filled me.

"I gotta stop doing the fancy stuff; it's so exhausting." I moaned feeling as though I could barely keep my eyes open.

"You've got more then one power." Jerrica wondered eyeing me with amazement; I nodded slightly before I yawned openly and found myself nearly losing my footing.

"You look terrible." Kimber observed reaching out to squeeze my shoulder and give me a kiss on the cheek, which I was too tired to feel anything towards at the moment. "Go get some rest; you've earned it." She stated; I smiled gratefully and stumbled to my feet glancing briefly at my watch face.

"Thanks, you have no idea how much I need this." I whispered taking my leave; the others watched me leave before turning on Kimber with fear, wonderment and curiosity in their eyes.

"How did he find you?" Jerrica demanded; Kimber waved her hands to keep their voices down and moved to double check on the girls. All of them had left the dining room and could be heard in either the living room or upstairs changing.

"I don't know; I heard them searching twice before giving up and the next thing I knew he was walking through the wall as if he knew it was there." She explained in a hushed tone; Rio narrowed his eyes and prepared to go have it out with Al, but Jerrica stopped him.

"What did he say?" She asked fearing the response; yet figuring it would be better to know how Kimber explained Synergy away to Al before confronting their guest.

"Nothing." Kimber replied in a mystified tone. "He acted as if it was no big deal." She added with a shrug.

"In that case we can wait to address this new development until after he's rested." Jerrica firmly stated taking a seat at the kitchen table with a smile.

"I guess so." Rio consented wrapping his arms around her and smiling as she turned and they kissed; Aja took a seat with a sad sigh.

"If Al hadn't been here…" She began; Shana gripped both her friends' shoulders in understanding as her tears continued to flow openly now.

"I don't want to think about it; those poor girls." She wailed in a hoarse tone choking back the urge to openly sob.

"We were all worried for them; at least you guys weren't totally helpless like I was." Kimber sighed dejectedly; her sister reached out and clasped her hand.

"Don't feel bad; we can't always know what to expect in this line of work." She returned with a warm smile.

"I was wondering, why didn't you crawl back out after letting Synergy know what was up?" Rio suddenly remarked eyeing Kimber curiously.

"I didn't want Al to see me like that." Kimber admitted with a blush; Jerrica smiled at her sister and shook her head.

"But he did anyway." Aja pointed out. Kimber nodded and sighed her cheeks flushing slightly further as she averted her eyes.

"Relax; he probably didn't even care, he was probably just happy to see you were ok." Shana comforted; Kimber smiled gratefully and decided to go check on the others, it'd be a while before she felt safe leaving the girls alone again.

* * *

I groaned loudly in my sleep; something was wrong, but even my sub-conscious didn't know exactly what. One by one the faces of my newfound friends swam about me accusingly; they stared at me as though I had failed them in some fashion, except a scant few who had only sad expressions. Then the world went dark and rippling green fires seared my flesh even my bones; I awoke with a scream so taken by the dream that I assumed a fighters' stance and glanced around frantically as though I could pierce the very shadows of doubt within my heart. Footsteps came running and a very frightened Anne poked her head in a question poised on her lips.

"Please forgive me." I stated before she could ask as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes with my knuckles. "I get vivid nightmares." I explained the memory of the dream fading even as I spoke; I wondered what it was about, but it had vanished like sand in a sieve and no trace remained to haunt my memories.

"The way you hollered I was afraid those goons might have come back." She admitted coming in and sitting on the edge of the bed; remarkably no one ever seemed to notice the inconsistencies concerning it or more importantly the sounds emanating from it, maybe my audios were just too aware of their surroundings for their own good at times.

"Ah." I began feeling my throat going dry; she giggled a little and moved over to the chair.

"Did you read my story yet?" She wondered nervously.

"Yes, you have quite the talent." I replied eliciting a proud smile; I grinned and looked around for my shoes, they weren't where I'd thought they'd be.

"Over here." Anne supplied pointing to the foot of the bed; I chuckled as I sat down and began to put them on.

"So; how long have you and Deidre been close?" I froze as soon as the words fell out of my mouth; where had that come from? Speaking about it was a definite no, no in my book; Anne was staring at me aghast and I searched in vain for the words to get out for this kind of situation.

"How did you?" She demanded the sudden venom in her tone making me feel three inches tall.

"I sort of, kind of, maybe overheard you talking last night." I admitted with a great sigh; _just kill me now because there's no recovering from this_.

"I thought everyone else was asleep." She whispered her voice now filled with self-loathing.

"There's no reason to feel ashamed about it; I mean sure you're still young and finding your way in this world, but at least you've got someone to share it with." I stated wondering openly why I was even discussing this; it was almost as if someone else was manipulating me, as if… _Q!_

"Teenagers shouldn't be so close." Anne stated in a low tone; ignoring the sudden rage I felt concerning my omnipotent watch dog and how he decided to get his jollies I openly chose to defy him.

"Who said that?" I wondered clearly upset despite my best efforts to tone my emotions down.

"Ashley." She replied looking at me almost though not quite dejectedly.

"Oh she's just jealous." I remarked with a wave of dismissal having no idea where that had come from; before I recalled noting the aspiring singer's reaction to Anne's presence earlier. "Everyone has the right to choose their path in life and a little experimenting never hurt anyone… Why are we discussing this?" I asked aloud unable to prevent the words from slipping out; I could swear I heard Q laughing just then and I ground my teeth turning so Anne wouldn't notice, _shouldn't the Continuum be keeping tabs on him anyways?_

"I thought you were uncomfortable with it; I mean a lot of adults would be furious if they found out." Anne observed thinking my question was seriously meant for her; I shook my head.

"I don't know where you get your ideas about adults, but trust me I don't think they'd be all that furious." I stated. "I am not uncomfortable; far from it, but I hardly think it's appropriate for a man my age to be talking to a girl your age about it, at least alone like this." I added climbing back to my feet; Anne joined me and shot me a mischievous smile.

"How old are you?" She wondered with a twinkle in her eye; _let's see, five and a half years aboard Voyager, and I was Twenty-One when I left Xena's world, take into consideration the time difference…_

"Twenty-Seven." I replied; she giggled again and shot me a strange look.

"Kimber always did like older men." She remarked playfully.

"All of you girls are too much." I sighed exasperatedly.

"No seriously; you should really think about pursuing her, it'd be cool to have you a part of this family, so to speak." She remarked in a false tone of seriousness; her face fell a little at the sudden expression of sadness that came over me.

"I'd love to, but I committed myself to someone else already and I won't even be around long enough for her." I revealed sighing once more at the thought of what was going on between Rogue and me; a part of me wished we'd started something more meaningful already, but Rogue wasn't here and I wouldn't pressure her.

"Why?" She wondered my melancholy nature getting her down too.

"I can't say; it's complicated." I returned quickly losing my piteous mood. "But forget about it; so what do we have planned for the rest of the day?" I asked glancing at the clock to make sure it wasn't already too late, _only four-thirty I hadn't slept long_.

"We're just recovering for now, but Delaree wants to go to that dumb fashion show tomorrow." She replied getting a sour look.

"Oh it's not your cup of tea I take it." I guessed with a smirk; she stuck out her tongue reminding me that she was still relatively only a child and I laughed.

"Well since Jerrica and the others go back to work tomorrow you all might have to come along." I informed; she adopted a look of mock horror and let out a wistful sigh.

"Well we couldn't do fun things all the time." She relented as we reached the stairs; having left my room during the conversation and making our way down the hall, I'd been taking my time because I didn't relish what I knew was fast approaching. "Oh right before I forget; Jerrica and the others want to have a word with you in her room." Anne suddenly recalled; I nodded in understanding and turned back heading for the door to her room, I had known this would be coming. There was no sense trying to hide it; the question that now haunted my being was a simple one, lie or reveal the ultimate truth?

* * *

"Hello?" I called out opening the door a crack wondering if I'd somehow arrived first.

"Behind the wall." Rio's voice responded; _so she finally told her boyfriend huh? Well that must have taken quite the load off_; I passed through the holographic disguise to find Jerrica and Rio in front of me. Shana sat to my right and Aja and Kimber to my left; the chains and gag still lay where they'd fallen, which surprised me.

"This is Synergy." Jerrica began taking me by surprise a second time in as many minutes. "My father created her to be the ultimate in musical entertainment; she creates holograms. With these earrings, which are actually holographic generators I become Jem." She demonstrated as Jem appeared before me and just as quickly vanished. "We all keep her secret because if anyone found out they could conceivably use her for evil purposes."

"Why tell me all this?" I interjected feeling a little foolish being told what I already knew; though they didn't know that.

"Because we want to know how you discovered me and when." Synergy replied. "And we all felt it would be easier to earn your trust if we proved our own trust in your ability to retain this knowledge and keep it to yourself." She added; her voice wasn't what I expected, it sounded partially similar to her animated counterpart from my childhood. Yet there was a slightly more melodious tone to it; and something else, something almost… Familiar. I slumped my shoulders as I grappled with what I knew was right and what I knew was necessary to keep certain things from them; if they knew of the Omniverse it might freak them out. Definitely not an easy decision to make lightly; I began to pace internally debating all the pros and cons, on the one hand I could stop being so secretive, on the other I could kiss my nice normal vacation away.  
If you could call the past three days normal; I continued pacing feeling as though a caged beast, I knew they couldn't wait forever… I let out a Klingon curse under my breath and lightly kicked the wall; I couldn't keep ignoring my conscience anymore and yet a part of me was still mindful of certain things. And so at last I made a compromise; turning to face the group I unleashed my assimilation tendrils, but only enough to get the message across. Their reactions were no surprise; shock, fear and curiosity all rolled into one, smiling slightly I shook my head before choosing to speak.

"Not all mutants are born with their powers; some are simply regular men or women who are captured by corrupt factions or something or another, and then artificially enhanced." I began in a subdued tone moving to take a seat and get more comfortable. "Not many consider themselves mutants, but I am a bit more practical; just because I was artificially transformed into a technorganic entity and thus mutated doesn't make me any less of a true mutant." I paused so as not to dry out my mouth with a great long speech; I quickly checked on the listeners having averted my gaze earlier, they'd settled themselves and now eyed me. Kimber was the most supportive; no surprise there, I was beginning to suspect her attraction towards me wasn't merely physical and yet now was not the time to worry about that. "That about sums up my story; at least enough to explain how I learned about Synergy, you see since I am part machine I have a tracking array of sorts. It's actually quite sophisticated, enough so as to detect holographic disguises; when I first woke up here the day of my arrival I immediately sensed that wall wasn't real. So when we couldn't find Kimber; and knowing the hologram must have been protecting a secret for some reason, I knew she had to be in here so I came alone, to respect that secret." I finished awaiting the inevitable flurry of questions; when they weren't straight forward in coming I began to fear I'd jeopardized my continued stay here.

"How can anyone do something so horrible to a human being?" Shana wondered breaking the silence at last.

"Doesn't surprise me." Rio retorted with a hint of disgust in his tone. "I hope the authorities saw to them." He added showing his support for me with a brief nod.

"Oh they got more then they bargained for." I whispered with a smirk; the others didn't hear me of course, expect perhaps Synergy, but she wisely kept it to herself.

"For someone trying to get away from all this it sure seems to want to keep popping up." Aja remarked sagely; I nodded in agreement as a tiny sigh escaped my lips.

"Tell me about it." I moaned.

"What exactly are those tendril things for?" Jerrica wondered and I eyed her briefly in consideration.

"Interfacing with any form of electrical appliance or device; I can talk to computers with'em and download stuff… Just a handy research tool and the like." I explained seeing as how that's what I used them for in the long run and it wasn't a lie, I just neglected to inform them that I was Borg and thus I could assimilate others with them if I were to be so heartless.

"Just that?" Kimber wondered; I saw the blush in her cheeks and couldn't help myself a chance for payback, a mischievous smile spread wide across my features.

"No, I've perfected using them as a natural extension of myself; I can grasp objects with them or even express my creative side with rudimentary images… And of course an old flame of mine did reveal, shall we say; other uses." I elaborated grinning openly as Kimber averted her eyes after my last comment; at first the others were mystified and then all, but Rio blushed a deep shade of red and averted their eyes as well.

"Now that could come in handy." Rio remarked playfully eyeing Jerrica knowingly; she shot him a brief glare and then rose to her feet.

"Well we've got dinner to prepare." She observed; _ah joyous happenstances, now that they knew the truth I could once again prepare a meal the faster way._

"Oh boy." I exclaimed rising to my own feet in haste. "Now I can show you how I cook back home." I added flicking my wrist a second time and allowing the tendrils to emerge a slightly longer distance, Kimber blushed a second time and I swiftly slipped through the holographic disguise eager to begin showing off my culinary capabilities; although I really had to thank Neelix yet again for his tutoring me on the subject.

To Be Continued;** Goodness; talk about scary and exciting all at once, would-be kidnappers beware Allan Rutherford is on the case, in the next exciting chapter more surprises, more tender moments between Al and Starlight Girls and of course more flirtatious Kimber Benton.**


	6. Chapter 6 Further Developments

**Author's Notes:** One reviewer huh? Have I truly lost my devoted readers; whoever they may be? If they even exist? I must know; so here's another chapter because at least I got one review, but if you wanna see me continue the read & review even if it's just a little thing to say hey; this story is great keep up the good work, or... Heaven forbid; flame me mercilessly, then by all means blast me... I'll ignore it, but at least it'll be a review. **Chuckles**...  
And now without further ado; here is a very deep and seriously darker toned chapter following the events of the attempted kidnapping.

* * *

Harvey Gabor sat in his home office examining the computer records of the days' affairs; ah it was a far cry better from the days when he was surrounded by incessantly ringing telephones. He wasn't very happy with Raymond or the music studios' losses, but they were minimal compared to the accumulated profits. As he wondered how he'd get those lost funds back he heard the door open; he didn't bother to look up because he knew who it would be.

"Phyllis now isn't a good time." He stated re-checking the off-shore drilling investments; strange there appeared to be an inconsistency.

"Father." Phyllis began her voice subdued as if she had reached some conclusive reasoning; Harvey knew something was bothering her; she always used Daddy when she wanted something, but Father when she was hurting. And yet he still did not look up.

"Did you ever love me?" She wondered; Harvey was so engrossed in discovering the source of the inconsistency that he didn't fully hear the question.

"Of course dear; always." He replied distractedly. "Now please leave I'm very busy."

"You lie." She cursed." You've always loved your money more than me." Her voice wavered at that cracking with emotional distress; at last she seemed to have touched a nerve with her father.

"Phyllis." Harvey began finally glancing up with an expression of annoyance; it quickly became one of fear and shock at the sight of his daughter. She was wearing a black dress; the one her mother always favored on family outings, her hair was done up quite fashionably as though she was about to attend a gala affair and two tiny jade earrings rested on her ears. But her pleasant appearance was marred; the pristine makeup she'd so painstakingly applied was ruined by the tears she still shed and her left hand held a gun steadily aimed at her father.  
"Now Phyllis." He stammered slowly reaching for the phone hidden from her daughters view.

"Why couldn't you just love me?" She demanded before the sharp crack of the pistol rang out; Harvey Gabor never reached the phone, he slumped over his precious computer dead before his head hit the keyboard. The bullet had hit straight between the eyes; Phyllis continued to cry bitter tears even as she turned the gun on herself.  
"I'm coming home Mommy." She whispered before the pistol was heard again; she fell to the floor, the pistol still held tightly in her now lifeless hand and thus ended the Gabor line destroyed by a father's inability to show his true feelings and by a daughter's inability to receive those feelings even after so many years because she just couldn't understand them.

* * *

Watching Al prepare a meal solo was something else; ingredients and implements flew through the air and connected with his hands as he stood in one place and worked seemingly moving slightly faster then normal, whatever his mutant gifts truly were they were most impressive. The girls mostly watched because they'd never seen anyone doing anything so strangely; also Al had insisted, he said they could use a lighter mood and he aimed to please, thus he performed with music playing in the background. 

"How do you do that?" Ba Nee finally got the nerve to ask; the girls hadn't wished to intrude upon his thoughts, Al smiled softly and plucked a knife out of thin air as he began to slice the cucumber for the salad.

"When I was mutated they had intended to make me the perfect mate for their fanatical leader; as such they wanted me to be truly powerful, what they hadn't counted on was my gaining such extrasensory powers as the ones I now possess, advanced healing was all they were hoping for. Or at least I'd imagine." He began to explain with a slight shrug; Kimber was a little taken aback by his open admittance that someone had tried to force him to be a lover. "The machines used in crafting me were altered on a particular level once the process was begun; their program matrices were re-written and instead of becoming a mindless follower I retained my individual thoughts and desires, I kept my soul." He continued moving over to the sink to wash the lettuce head; he insisted on doing everything.  
"They granted me more then one power; a rarity among genetic mutants, but for those of us crafted out of mechanical experimentation… Well it isn't altogether unheard of. I'm a living gravity pole; what I'm doing right now is manipulating a small section around me spreading my natural gifts out so that items without metallic content can float, escape the Earth's natural gravity well. An extension of this gravitational ability is the added gift of magnetic manipulation; I can summon any metallic objects to my grasp when needed, but my gift allows me to manipulate metal on an even greater scale then that of Magneto… It's how the water in the pool changed into that demon image and played kick the can with Zipper's little friends', I tapped into the minute traces of elements within the water; there wasn't a lot to work with, but it was enough to force the water to do what needed to be done… I'm aqua phobic, I can't put my head under water otherwise I'll freak out… Er; I think I already mentioned that yesterday at the mall, but anyway that's the reason I don't swim, it's not that I can't… Now that I'm a living computer I can do anything I put my mind to, but I still have the unhealthy fear; anyway I was saying all that because I wanted to reveal just why I forced the water into that particular shape. I figured if they scared the hell out of me I'd just have to one up them; pay'em back for dunking me headfirst, and I was always partial to Fantasia's Night on Bald Mountain segment." He rambled on speaking so fast it was hard to pick up every word; some of the girls eyed him strangely after that, and Ashley was the one who asked what was bothering them.

"Living computer?" She repeated uncertainly; Al's face turned white slightly with fear and he lowered his eyes.

"Er; did I say that out loud?" He asked of no one in particular. "I neglected to mention that part to Jerrica or the others; and when I told you the condensed version I sort of left it out too… You see I'm Technorganic, a human machine of sorts; oh it's not like I was built or anything, but you see… Well when they experimented on me and mutated me they kind of left their little toys inside; all their little toys, they fused with my organic cells and organs and the like and that's why I've got these handy little tools." He elaborated flicking out his tendrils and using them to prepare the oven for cooking. "Because of that I sort of have one hundred percent brain capacity; in a sense I've become exactly what they were hoping for, perfection on a hybridized level, so that's why I tend to wax poetic… Kind of hard not to revert to using my impressively sized vocabulary at times; I was kind of keeping it in earlier, which is why I've been speaking so loquaciously at this junction, I've been keeping it in for four days now counting Sunday and well…" He trailed off with a shrug and a sheepish smile before turning back to his work and claming up.

"Is that all the powers you have?" Becky asked uncertainly. "When I was watching you earlier it kind of looked like there was energy crackling between your fingertips." She added.

"That's why they call me Kilowatt." He returned with a chuckle demonstrating the power she'd revealed by zapping his empty can of soda and blowing it apart. "If I'd let myself really go on those scrap for brains philistines I might have inadvertently electrocuted them… And killing another human being in anger is never a good thing; of course killing another human being period isn't either." He added with a tired sigh.

"Wow; so many powers, why?" Deidre wondered slightly nervous; Jerrica was about to stop this interrogation for fear Al might let slip something he shouldn't, but Al laughed openly at the question and turned back to the girls.

"If I knew that I'd truly be omniscient." He stated. "The electrical thing I could understand; since not only can I zap stuff, but I can also draw power into me in order to replenish the energies spent by my little companion mechanoids. The gravity thing is rather a bit much if you were to ask me." He added with a wink. "Healing I can't complain on; it beats walking around with scars and glaring wounds. If I was a betting man though I'd have to say a certain friend of mine who was overseeing the experimentation might have had something to do with it, and I use the term friend lightly; that arrogant pest is most aggravating at the best of times and positively primeval on his bad days… He's the slag suckin' saurian who forced me to leave my daughter behind, and there is no way on Earth, Cybertron or any other planet you wish to name that I intend to forgive him, ever." He finished his manner of speaking coming off a little stranger; Jerrica smiled, she knew it was just his true self fighting to come out and he was letting it. It was nice to get a glimpse at his true nature; his soul was genuinely good and she could tell by his attitude that he was a big kid at heart. Rio shook his head and eyed the flying cooking utensils thoughtfully; Kimber looked almost sad with the amount of desire she had in her eyes.

"You; ah, do this often?" He asked indicating the display; Al quickly sobered up and shook his head.

"I'm no fool; it's fun to unwind sometimes doing this, but there's an old saying I've kind of taken to heart. And that is; that with great power there must also come great responsibility." Al replied in a soft tone. "A lesson some people learn the hard way." He added with a tiny knowing smirk. "But even we responsible people need to get away every now and then; not just because my teaching was getting out of hand." He continued slipping once again into the comfortable lie; Jerrica silently sighed, she wished he'd open up and admit the truth fully, but she knew that it was asking too much of the man right now. He didn't know about the Holograms little run in with his boss Roma and so he couldn't know that it would be safe at least telling the adults about his true origins, she was beginning to suspect that his time traveling the Omniverse had made him a little too cautious for his own good.

"Are you a super hero?" Lela asked softly; all eyes turned to him wondering what his reaction to that question might be, Al simply smiled and shook his head.

"I don't have an **official** identity, secret or otherwise; I kind of dabble with different costumes, you might know about a guy calling himself Shadow who took down Electro a few weeks back." He began; a few of the girls nodded. "That was me. Kilowatt is what the… Er; well maybe I shouldn't give that secret away just yet, you might pester me for autographs or something… And that BAT incident earlier; I was kind of in the thick of things fighting next to the Avengers to help stop Red Skull." He admitted with a bone weary sigh.  
"Considering the life I led before I came to America; well let's just say it's a lot of pressure to be tasked with saving so many lives and leave it at that." He finished before turning back to complete the dinner preparations; even with all his powers he couldn't speed up the time it would take to cook everything and for that Jerrica was glad.

"Well girls why don't we leave Allan for now to finish up and stop bothering him." She suggested clapping her hands; there was a collective moan, but Al nodded.

"You better do as your told girls; if you're good maybe I'll even show you how I become Shadow." He said with a knowing smile; in a flash most of the Starlight girls had dashed off and left the cramped kitchen, Rio shook his head.

"Now you've done it; you're spoiling them." He accused with a smile to show that he wasn't being genuinely judgmental or condescending, Al simply shrugged and went back to work; Kimber moved to offer him a hand and the levitating utensils silently dropped to the counter.

"You know you lied earlier; when you slipped and used the name Shadow." She accused; Al blushed slightly, he'd forgotten that particular incident.

"Sorry." He apologized. "Super heroes usually don't blab their identities in public though." He added with a twinkle in his eye; Kimber laughed and brushed up alongside him, and Jerrica let out a tiny sigh. Her sister was going to wind up with heart ache if she kept trying too hard; Al obviously had ties to another, Jerrica could see that in the way he acted about her sister's advances, but there was nothing she could do about it. Shaking her head she decided to leave; lest she say something she might regret, Rio came with her leaving Al alone with Kimber in the kitchen since Shana and Aja had left with the girls, and Al did his best to focus on cooking.

* * *

I sat once more in the living room my camera in hand as I filmed an after dinner practice session; the television was off and Jerrica was saying goodbye to Rio at the front door, fortunately the music drowned out anything I might inadvertently overhear. Kimber sat close to me bobbing along to the beat; Shana and Aja were sticking close to the other girls who were over in the reading room, or in the case of the youngest ones washing the dishes. Everyone took turns with the chores even those that couldn't reach the sink without help; I'd wondered why Jerrica hadn't bothered to get a dishwasher, but I just figured she wouldn't want to waste her money on a triviality. The group finished up their jam session and I smiled as Kimber jostled my arm in her enthusiasm. 

"You're getting really good girls." She exuberated grinning as the others squirmed a little with the praise.

"You aren't just saying that?" Ashley wondered her eyes lighting up with a little hope.

"No way, you're Outrageous." Kimber returned; the girls all smiled broadly and Ashley and Deidre slapped palms.

"It's getting late; time to put your instruments away girls." Jerrica announced as she returned; Ashley frowned a little, but the quartet complied and Anne helped out.

"Could you help Al?" Delaree asked hopefully; I could tell she wanted me to start using my powers again.

"Sorry my powers aren't to be used lightly; as I said before." I reminded; she sighed and was about to lift one of her drums by herself when I picked it up instead.

"But the old fashioned way is still an option." I quipped with a mischievous smirk. Delaree shot me an annoyed look, but Anne grinned at my words; we all headed off instruments in tow.

"Hurry back." Kimber called to me; I groaned yet again at her strange attitude, it was very difficult to keep from openly seeking her out, she was rather hot after all and unlike Rogue she so wanted me now. Though I shouldn't have held that against Rogue; it was her first chance at a real relationship, with physicality and everything, she wanted to go slow and I wasn't about to pressure her… Still it would be nice if we could pick up where we were about to start before I was forced to leave New York or risk losing my mind.

"So why is it Nancy and Marianne are always so quiet?" I wondered as we climbed the stairs; Ashley shrugged.

"They've always been that way, I don't honestly know why." She replied.

"Maybe because they feel overwhelmed." Krissie suggested. "I mean there are an awful lot of us here." She pointed out.

"Indeed." I concurred adopting my aristocratic tone; ok so it was actually Megatron's voice from Beast Wars, but they wouldn't know that.

"Some days it feels like we've been here for fifteen years." Deidre added with a sigh; I smirked at that.

"We'd be a lot older if that were true." Anne pointed out; I tried not to say anything, if Jem had started fifteen years ago then from everything I knew about the cartoon she'd be right. But in the Marvel universe; or universes I should say, not everything always makes perfect sense. Dropping off the instruments in the girls' rooms I turned to leave when I felt someone's eyes on the back of me. Turning to look down the hall I saw little Terri peaking out of her room; only to slam the door shut when she caught sight of me.

"Looks like someone could use a friend." I whispered heading down the hall; when I reached her door I gently tapped at it.

"Go away." Her muffled reply came; I rapped softer still before turning the knob and sticking my head in.

"Are you ok?" I wondered showing the girl my concern; I could tell she'd been crying again.

"I'm fine." She stammered doing her best to hide her tears. "Please just go away." She added in a desperate, soft tone.

"Ok if you really don't want to talk about it." I stated in a respectful tone slowly closing the door as I turned to leave.

"Wait!" She cried turning so fast she nearly lost her balance; I stopped and waited. "Come in, but promise you won't get mad." She requested; I entered and stood close to the door in case she wanted me to leave quickly.

"What's wrong sprite?" I asked picking a nickname out of the blue hoping she wouldn't mind; kids had a way of feeling special if you gave them special nicknames, which serves as terms of endearment in a parent's case.

"I'm feeling really bad." She explained curling up onto her bed with her back towards me. "But I don't know if I should tell the adults."

"And I'm not an adult?" I wondered quirking my eye in bemusement; she shook her head and sighed openly.

"Of course you are, but you healed me." She explained; I nodded in understanding.

"You trust me." I surmised glancing around her room for the first time since entering; something big must have been wrong, her bathing suit was laying next to a pair of scissors and I was shocked to see that she'd cut it into long useless strips. A picture she must have drawn a while ago was crumpled in a heap next to the waste basket and her personal writing desk was toppled over. Everything scattered across the floor; so she must have been hurting a lot, incapable of expressing her frustration and despair in any other way.

"When I was tied up one of those men touched me." She whispered in such a low and frightened tone I barely caught her words; a mask of fury slipped over my face immediately, _which one of those goons could have done it?_

"Which one?" I demanded in a low cold tone; she turned to face me and when she saw the electricity crackling at my fingertips a different shade then before her eyes widened in fear.

"That one you threw in the pool." She whispered; I recovered my composure at that and a small dark smirk crossed over my features for but an instant.

"Then he got his just desserts." I stated. "Since he's in jail now." I added all serious.

"But what if he gets out?" Terri wondered her tone wringed with fear. "What if he comes after me again?" She began to tremble and wrapped the covers tighter about her; I didn't know exactly what to say about that, in all honesty the man probably wouldn't be out for five or ten years, but he would be out eventually. The likelihood of him returning for her specifically though was nonexistent; if anything he'd probably be picked up again for doing something to somebody else, hired thugs didn't hold grudges. That was more of a super villains' style; I approached the child cautiously and rested a hand on her shoulder briefly, she cringed a little.

"You're safe from him; he'll never be back, he'd be too afraid that I'd still be here." I consoled smiling at the satisfying thought of those creeps scared at the prospect of ever meeting me again, and by rights they should be, it was what Batman would have wanted.

"But you won't and next time I could be taken away… He could…" She wailed though her voice was still low; I sighed and sat on the opposite end of the bed because my feet were getting tired.

"There won't be a next time." I stated with confidence. "Jerrica and the others won't ever be tricked like that again." I elaborated sighing briefly as my face fell; helping Terri cope wasn't easy. "They all love you a great deal and would hate themselves if anything happened; if it weren't for the fact that I had been here they'd be very upset right now." She crawled out of her blanket and came over to me looking up with such an expression on her face that my heart literally ached; so like Amy, of course if anyone tried that with her they'd be dead faster than a mosquito. "I think it's time I showed you and all the others how I become Shadow, if anything it might help you feel a little bit better." I stated offering a smile.

"You'd really reveal a secret like that?" She asked; I merely chuckled and waved her remark away dismissively.

"Yes; after all I promised I would if you all behaved, and you have." I returned; then a stray thought hit me and I pulled the chains out of my pocket, I'd picked them up back in Jerrica's room they were the one's that had been keeping Kimber helpless. Terri shied away from them; I offered a brief smile of reassurance and closed my eyes, I began to work calling forth a gravity well dense enough that the metal was crushed into a ball almost instantly. And this made it malleable enough for me to use my magnetic powers to alter its shape; not an easy task without the hot fires of a forge, but my art didn't need to look perfect. Once I was finished a tiny statue of me rested in the palm of my hand floating as if in mid-flight a tiny cape seemingly flickering behind him. In his arms he was holding a representative of Terri in a strong and safe pose; it still looked mostly like a chain, for there were no good features, but the gist of it could get across.

"Is that for me?" She asked in awe; I was only a little tired this time, but I smiled.

"Whenever you feel sad or hurt or even afraid because of that memory you can always look at this." I stated raising her desk back into a standing position and floating the statue over to it. "And you can remember me and how I saved you; and how I turned those nasty chains that made you so helpless into something from the heart, a symbol of our hopefully lasting friendship." She was crying now as I finished, but these were tears of joy and she hugged me and even grew bold enough to kiss me on the cheek.

"I wish I had a father like you." She whispered into my ear; I started to cry now and smiled at the sentiment.

"And I wish I could stay here instead of having to leave." I admitted speaking so softly and silently that I knew she hadn't heard, which is what I wanted; it was still early in my vacation no sense in reminding anyone that I'd have to leave in another eleven days time least of all me.

* * *

"Are you so certain now that letting him take this vacation was such a good idea?" Saturnyne demanded causing Roma to grow angered. 

"So you would rather have let those innocents be taken and the little one violated?" She demanded in turn glaring at her faithful ally; Saturnyne blanched and tried to think of the words to use in this situation, but they failed her.

"That's the problem with Saturnyne; she rarely thinks of the opposite side of things." Q remarked popping in beside Roma and eyeing the image of Al as he demonstrated the Trans Tech Armor. "Yes; he is certainly getting a break from all the insanity." He added with a chuckle.

"You call that a break?" Saturnyne exclaimed incredulously; Q merely shrugged and smiled.

"He'd be far too bored if he only had the girls to watch over." Q stated knowingly. "He may not admit to this, but just living as a family man would drive him insane… Besides, he won't have to worry about any more, how should I put this?" He wondered making a show of uncertain decision making.

"Need for his powers?" Roma suggested playing along with a smile.

"Ah you've taken the words out of my mouth." Q beamed mischievously before vanishing just as he'd arrived.

"That one has taken too much of an interest in this." Saturnyne complained. "If he's not careful he'll ruin the grand design for this one." She added sagely.

"Even Q's not arrogant enough to do that." Roma countered. "At least not twice." She amended with a grin. "Now come we have other missions to see to." She reminded heading over to a different section of her workspace with a heavy sigh.

* * *

Terri quietly slipped into Al's room; he was sleeping peacefully in his bed, she hadn't felt very safe even in her own room and had suffered a restless sleep for the past few hours. Quietly spreading her blanket over the floor she settled herself down beside the bed; ignoring the strange noises coming from it, she didn't know what was causing it, but she wasn't interested in the mystery. Closing her eyes she found a shaky peace and managed to finally get to sleep; after she did fall asleep a slight flash lit the room and a being appeared, she smiled down upon the Starlighter with a slight wistful expression. 

"Q and Q wouldn't bother with such things, but I'm not like them; I was raised as a human and so I have a soft spot for such predicaments." She whispered gently kneeling and brushing her hand through the child's hair. "Though erasing your memories would be rather immoral; I find I must do something, I too have been drawn into this man's life and my own job rarely affords much time for popping in to pay visit to those I have helped in the past." She continued glancing briefly to the sleeping Borg; she shook her head slightly and did something unobserved and unknown. "You will not have need of this any further; tomorrow night you shall sleep in your own bed safe and secure in the knowledge that no man will ever do this to you again and when the time comes… He shall be there to help train you in the ways of your power; for after all Xavier can not be everyone's tutor lest the natural order of things cause the very unbalance he seeks to correct." She added with a small chortle and then she flashed off; changing the girls' destiny wasn't something that should be taken lightly and she would need to discuss it with some of the others who also governed such things.

* * *

Thursday morning started out with a real hoot; Delaree wanted to go to a fashion show a fact well established to my knowledge, what no one thought to tell me however was that it happened to start at eight in the morning so everyone needed to get up early and get ready. Had I known the time beforehand I wouldn't have stayed up until midnight last night, but then again since I had required taking a nap after my exhausting thrashing of the would-be kidnappers I hadn't been tired enough, nor drained enough to lay down in the regeneration bed and sleep. I brushed the hand from my shoulder and turned over pulling the covers tighter and trying my best to ignore the other people in my room. 

"He's just not budging." Delaree moaned; she'd been shaking me for what felt like a good fifteen minutes, but I barely even registered it; or at least gave the impression as such.

"I've got an idea." Ashley remarked a twinkle in her eye. "But it might get us in trouble."

"Anything to get him up before Jerrica and the others come up here." Deidre exclaimed throwing her hands in the air with exasperation; Ashley giggled and hopped up onto the bed then she proceeded to fall forwards, she'd expected that suddenly getting slammed into by a thirteen year old dead weight would have woken me up. She hadn't counted on halting fourteen inches above me or seeing my eye peeking out from behind my eyelid before squeezing tightly shut.

"He's faking." Terri grumbled.

"Who's faking what?" Kimber asked coming into the room and stifling a yawn; she hated getting up early, but work beckoned once more.

"Al's faking sleeping." Ashley explained from her hovering position; she was slowly, lazily rising back up into the air and away from being so close to me. "This is kinda cool." She added grinning broadly; Kimber strode purposefully up to the bed and saw that if I was faking I was doing a pretty good job of it, all those sleepless times in the regeneration alcoves paid off. She smiled mischievously unseen by me of course bent down purposefully and gave me a kiss; her lips were warm to the touch and they snapped me fully out of the half-sleep state I'd been keeping myself in.  
She could obviously see I was wide awake now, but she kept up the kiss for as long as she could until she was forced to pull away. The others were giggling all over again at the expression on my face and Kimber was smiling seductively; her cheeks barely flushing, I sighed and gently lowered Ashley to the floor where she sat pouting.

"Was that really necessary?" I moaned sitting up in bed and letting the blanket fall to my waist; I derived some small satisfaction at Kimber's far more pronounced blush as she caught sight of my firm physique, my bare chest and upper torso visible for all to see. "And just why are you waking me up at six AM?" I wondered quirking my eyebrow; a slightly bad habit of mine, but I'd long discovered I enjoyed doing it.

"The fashion show starts at eight." Delaree explained; I sighed and hopped out of bed revealing that I was still wearing my pants from yesterday as a sort of pajama replacement, though in reality it was just in case of an emergency. I hardly thought it appropriate to be running around in my underwear here of all places surrounded by impressionable young teenage minds.

"I guess I'd better do the three minute shower, breakfast combo deal before we take off then." I stated heading over to the private restroom; the girls cheered and took their leave, but Kimber hung back taking a seat to wait until I came back out. I sighed happily as the extremely hot water began to wake me up; the best part about becoming a Technorganic Borg was the fact that I was no longer super sensitive skin man, at least when it came to extreme temperatures. Slipping back into the main room I froze mid-stride and quickly wrapped the towel I'd been using to dry my hair around my person before Kimber looked back up from her contemplative pose and saw more then she would have bargained for.

"Can I help you?" I asked raking a hand through my hair and beginning to rifle through my drawers for something to wear.

"Actually maybe you can." She began softly looking back up from me and shooting me a nervous smile; _uh oh_, I didn't like where this was going. "I've… I've never really felt anything like this before for anyone; the way I've seen how you care for the girls, you're sweet and gentle and I think. No; I know I've fallen in love with you." She admitted; I sagged visibly and lowered my head in regret, I knew all too well the pain of rejection and it was something I had never wished to cause another living being.

"Kimber." I tried to start; she approached me with a few quick purposeful strides.

"Let me finish." She insisted brushing her hand through her hair nervously. "I know we only just met four days ago; and I've fallen for some guys in less time then that, but you've really made an impression on me and I was hoping you'd agree to be my date for tonight." She finished looking up at me with hope filled eyes.

"A date? I thought you had a concert?" I asked confused; Kimber reached out for me tentatively, but quickly snatched her hand back fearing she might go too far.

"Yes there is a concert, but it's a benefit concert we won't be on stage all the time." She explained; I was beginning to feel sick to my stomach, as though a thousand bats were fluttering around stirring up trouble. But this seemed so important to her and Rogue wasn't here; I wanted to give my heart only to Rogue, but Kimber was very real and here now, couldn't I just give her a bit of happiness before I crushed all of her hopes?

"This date; it would only be a one time deal?" I wondered carefully shrugging a shirt on so I could lose the itchy towel; it was long enough and I really didn't feel comfortable standing practically naked before this woman who had just bared her soul to me, again.

"Yes." She replied. "I would love to have you as a steady boyfriend, but I… I understand why you're unwilling to commit." She added her face falling even as she spoke; my heart and mind were now supremely conflicted, I felt as though an all out war for supremacy and dominance was being fought within me. "Though it seems to me that if that other woman loved you as much as I did she'd never leave you." She continued with a knowing look, or at least a look that said she thought she knew it all; despite things though I had a feeling she was still relatively naïve when it came to romantic entanglements.

"What about the girls?" I asked stalling for time; this was difficult, be faithful to Rogue even though I wasn't fully sure she really wanted me… No that was a lie; I was lying to myself, Rogue desired me and I knew it, but a part of me was being selfish and needy because it had been considerably some time since I had last been with a woman.

"Oh they come to all our concerts." Kimber explained with a smile. "At least the one's in town." She amended; I nodded in understanding, but I was still uncertain; the worst thing imaginable for someone like Kimber was unrequited love. If I did agree would I be saying to myself that I wasn't willing any more to be with Rogue? Or would I be simply acting as a close friend; because I didn't remember Kimber ever talking about other potential boyfriends, in fact whenever Aja or Shana got started on their great loves Kimber tended to clam up and seemed to get a painful look in her eyes.

"_Why am I being so stupid?_" I thought to myself. "_Men do date more then one woman, at least some men do; it's not like I'd be hurting anybody with one little date that Rogue wouldn't even know about, and does this sound as weak to you as it does me?_" I asked though I didn't know if I was asking Q, Roma, God or maybe some other third party observing these events; Kimber was looking at me anxiously, there was a desperation in those eyes. "Why can't these choices ever be easy?" I sighed taking the opportunity to finish getting dressed; an awkward thing when a grown woman was standing right in front of me, but still doable, I took a deep breath and made that fateful plunge. "Kimber; I would be honored to be your date for the evening." I said; her eyes lit up in delight and she wrapped me in a tight embrace once more kissing me longingly, I relished the kiss just this once before she pulled away and dashed off with a lightness to her step. I couldn't believe it; everything I'd thought I was capable of since Rogue and I first discovered we could touch safely seemed to have fallen apart inside, as though my inner gentleman and belief system decided to just allow the inner primal urges to beat it down into submission. I was officially going out with another woman; allowing her to touch me, kiss me with intimacy and not telling her how uncomfortable and unwilling it was for me. Had I become one of those men who just wanted to have sex with as many women as he could? Had my fling with Serenity destroyed my inner romantic and his ideas of long term relationship commitments?  
"Well; I don't really have any desires to bed Kimber, there's no real feelings for her at all except pity… Ah slag; I'm doing this out of sympathy, I see in her what I experienced growing up, alone and unloved by any girl… And I can't stand to see another person hurt, especially my friends." I said to myself hanging my head and holding it in my hands in shame and despair. "I have too big a heart for my own good." I added sighing deeply.  
"Life could not get any more complicated then this; I'd rather be fighting Venom again, or heaven forbid Megatron rather then deal with this." I moaned to myself leaving my room in order to hurriedly have breakfast and drive the girls to Delaree's precious fashion show.

* * *

Jubilee, Kitty, Scott, Jean and Logan were watching the early morning news; so far nothing big was happening in the city of New York, no major villain attacks, no movement from Cobra not even a sighting of any Decepticons flying overhead, it was too quiet. Naturally this made Logan touchy and rather prone to snap at people; he preferred the hectic lifestyle the X-Men had become accustomed to over time, but Magneto and his Brotherhood were being quiet and the Hellfire club hadn't been heard from in years. 

"Sure has been quiet since Kilowatt took off." He observed cracking his knuckles as the commercial break began; Scott nodded in agreement as Jean stirred lightly in his lap, another thing Logan couldn't stand when there wasn't any action his feelings for Jean, though brought under control were still sometimes overpowering when he caught a scent of her, but he respected Scott too much to try and destroy his happiness.

"Personally I'm enjoying this lull, ever since we took him in its' been one battle right after another." Scott returned.

"It's always been like that bub; just not so many days in a row." Logan reminded with a grin as the news resumed.

"And remarkable news from Los Angeles; yesterday afternoon a daring kidnapping plot was stopped by an unknown young man, the kidnappers were all taken into custody, we now show you an interview conducted yesterday at Starlight Mansion." The reporter stated; all ears perked up and the volume was turned up by Kitty who was holding the remote.

"So these men were here to kidnap every single one of your charges, the Starlight Girls?" An unseen male reporter asked; Jem who was sitting in a rather small looking chair nodded and shifted slightly in her seat searching for comfort.

"Yes." She replied smiling deeply.

"How terrifying that must have been; how did you thwart this heinous attempt?" The reporter asked eliciting a snort from Logan; the guy had to have been holding a Thesaurus for that one.

"We didn't; they'd done their homework well, they managed to get every adult out of the house except Kimber Benton and a gentleman friend of hers that they did not know was visiting." Jem began a look of sorrow on her features now; she wiped a few tears away quickly and resumed her explanation.

"They captured five of the girls and left Kimber bound and gagged in one of the rooms before he realized what was going on; he managed to take care of them though and rescue all the girls." She finished smiling now with warmth; a shot of the reporters disbelieving face now graced the screen, Logan recognized the man Hector Ramirez.

"Who is this man and how could he take on…" He paused to examine some hastily made notes in his lap. "Eighteen individuals by himself?"

"I'm afraid I can't divulge the name; he's requested it." Jem replied. "And as for how he did it, well he is highly versed in six forms of martial arts." She elaborated with a smirk.

"And there you have it; one man taking on eighteen able bodied kidnappers." The New York reporter elaborated with a fake smile; the interview having been cut off for some reason, most likely because Ramirez started to ask questions unrelated to the event at hand.

"All right Al." Jubilee praised with a smile.

"Smart of her not to mention his name; looks like Kilowatt failed to keep his secret." Logan observed with an amused grunt.

"What did she mean gentleman friend of this Kimber person?" Kitty demanded her eyes narrowed slightly as she was obviously thinking of how Rogue and Al were getting closer and Al could give her something no one else could.

"A cover most likely; better to classify him as that then a stranger they'd just met who happened to be staying with them." Jean offered small concern reflected in her expression as she eyed Scott; not too many of the X-Men failed to notice what was brewing between the two star crossed lovers, so to speak. Rogue however wasn't taking his absence very well; in fact she rarely left his room, but as it happened she was just outside the den and had heard the entire broadcast. Her face was torn between trusting that Jean's explanation was correct and the heartbreak she was feeling at the thought that Al would start seeing another woman.  
She decided then and there that she'd go talk to him; making her way towards he own room she quickly packed a few things into a duffel bag and then left via the backdoor. She had to know for certain; and if he was doing something behind her back she'd make him sorry for messing with her heart.

To Be Continued... **Dun, dun, duh! Uh-Oh; looks like Al's big heart is going to get him in trouble with his true soul mate Rogue... And poor Pizzazz AKA Phyllis Gabor, looks like she really lost it after finally being forced to take a big hard look at her life and it's choices. Some of my readers may question such a thing; for instance her animated counterpart is definately portrayed as a lot more stable in certain respects... But hey; this story is ultimately called SEA OF TURMOIL, and it's not just a reference to Al's uncertainty and guilt over killing Red Skull and Carnage's human half.  
Anyway; I hope I get more then on review this time, seriously if you want to see further updates and read more about the Misfits, Holograms, Starlight Girls, X-Men, Autobots, Decepticons, GIJoe, Cobra, Q, Roma and... Well anybody else who might show up; then be kind, R&R.**


	7. Chapter 7 Romantic Entanglements

**Author's Notes:** Before I begin just let me say that if you're interested in seeing where things are going check out my profile; I've updated with information on the entire Chrysalis story, which Crisis on Earth 929 is a part of... You'll see where my creative ideas are taking us all, now on with the show and boy is it going to be a doozy with Rogue and Kimber vying for Al's affections. ;)

* * *

The men from the coroners' office sealed the second body bag as Detective Prickly watched; this was his least favorite part of the job. His partner approached with a hot cup of Tim Horton's coffee for each of them and sighed as she saw the chalk outlines.

"This kind of stuff always leaves a sour feeling in my stomach." She admitted as the other unit maneuvered the bodies from the room; Prickly nodded in agreement and sipped at the coffee gratefully.

"I used to listen to her music; it's a shame she took it so hard." He remarked with a slight yawn. "Any suicide notes on her part?"

"No, apparently she just decided to kill her old man and then took her own life." Leslie replied with a weary sigh.

"Well at least this one doesn't leave unanswered questions like the death of her former manager." Prickly returned commenting on the other call they'd gotten at one in the morning.

"The other band members have been notified." A suit officer informed as he approached the two plain clothes detectives. "That Roxy chick didn't seem so surprised, but Stormer took it real hard."

"Figures; well I guess all we've got to do now is file the report." Prickly stated taking a final look at the outlines before leaving the room.

"You got the statements from the servants?" Leslie asked.

"I figured I'd leave it up to you." Prickly shot over his shoulder before vanishing into the hall; Leslie fumed a little at that.

"Typical." She growled heading off to conduct the interviews; she was going to get Pete back for that.

* * *

"I can't wait until I'm old enough to wear something like that." Delaree murmured dreamily as the fourteenth model began to walk down the catwalk; Al tried to hide his boredom as he recorded the show with his camera, Delaree had pleaded with him to make her a copy so she could watch it over and over again… Obviously her first passion was a career in modeling; the band came second, Al was more annoyed with the Cindy Lauper song being played during this phase of the show, it wasn't like this was a Paris original kind of show. Most of the other girls were enjoying themselves, but Anne looked seriously bored; Al wouldn't dream of letting any of them out of his sight though, he was still a little over protective after yesterdays little fiasco.

* * *

They were forced to sit through another two hours of primping models; it was a serious drag for Al because he wasn't big on fashion, that plus he was still feeling twisted over his decision to agree to dating Kimber. When all was said and done though it could have been worse; at least he was getting some fresh air, after the show they all piled back into the van and Al pulled out with the Starlight Express perhaps just a little bit faster then he should have in his haste to escape.

"So now what?" Krissie wondered. "The concert doesn't start for a good while yet."

"I don't know." Deidre replied with an indifferent shrug. "And I really don't care."

"We could catch a movie." Lela suggested practically; Al wasn't interested in seeing any movies just then, but if the girls agreed to it he would have to go.

"Nothing good starts until that Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom flick." Becky countered leaning against her window with a bored look on her face.

"We could visit the museum." Marianne offered; the others shot that down quick enough.

"What about spending a few hours at Disneyland?" Terri asked; Al perked up at that suggestion, but realized it probably wouldn't be practical what with the long lines and just how many girls he had with him.

"With their lines?" Joellen countered. "Pass."

"The park?" Ba Nee suggested; this was starting to get rather repetitive, none of the girls could agree on anything.

"We aren't dressed for it." Ashley countered; this last excuse was pretty flimsy, but Al decided to keep quiet until he felt it necessary to intervene.

"Why don't we just wait until we get back home to decide?" Anne demanded in exasperation; Al frowned at that indicating the gas meter.

"That would be a waste of time and gas." He stated; Anne blushed a little and mumbled an apology, she'd forgotten their current chauffer wasn't loaded like Jerrica and thus didn't have access to the Starlight accounts.

"Well we're at a stalemate then." Delaree surmised with a sigh; the rest of the girls fell silent trying to figure out what to do, it was Nancy who finally made a suggestion.

"Let's let Al choose the activity." She spoke up shyly; the others shot her looks of surprise and then a chorus of cheers rang out.

"That's a brilliant idea." Anne congratulated tousling the younger girls' hair.

"Me?" He blurted as they pulled to a stop at a set of lights. "But, but I wouldn't know what to pick." He exclaimed before the lights suddenly changed and he was forced to start going again.

"Oh come on." Ashley encouraged shooting the man a smile. "You can't come up with anything less dull then what we might." She added slyly.

"Well, uh I…" He stammered; his idea of fun was going on a trip to the holodeck or hanging around soaking this universe in, of course here he didn't have access to that level of technology and he didn't know what twelve girls might find interesting enough to agree upon. "I'm sorry; I can't think of anything." He apologized with a sigh.

"You're a mutant with incredible powers and you don't know how to pass the time?" Anne wondered incredulously; she grinned at him and Al realized that he'd just been maneuvered into a carefully planned trap.

"You want me to use my powers for no reason?" He asked with a wry smirk. "Even after the whole great power, great responsibility speech?" He added seriously.

"Well; it would kinda be cool to be able to fly." Deidre piped up careful not to look at him directly.

"Well; I suppose I could give you girls some rides in zero G." He mused shooting a glance back at the girls. "But it couldn't be too high and we'd have to do it at the mansion." He added firmly.

"This is going to be so cool." Ashley beamed excitedly; Al let out a tiny sigh he knew it would be cool for them, but physically draining on his part, still he couldn't say no to anyone especially girls that reminded him constantly of his absent and much missed daughter.

* * *

Optimus Prime sat in his private quarters; it was rare that he would take the time to return here aboard the Ark, especially in recent years with the threat of all out war against the Decepticons here on Earth constantly hanging over everyone, but after hearing what had happened to Mister Raymond… He should have tried harder to keep the man safe; oh Prime had no misconceptions about the mans character or integrity, Eric Raymond was a petty thief given too much power in his line of work and he flaunted that power dangerously at times.  
It had lead to the man's assassination at the hands of Megatron; Prime cherished all human life, even that mutant Magneto who had tried to force the Autobots to do his bidding during the Sentinel Wars, and so it pained him greatly to know that their war was the death of another helpless human. Sighing to himself he briefly touched his chest; housing place for the Autobot Matrix of Leadership and his last link to Cybertron, a home the Autobots had been away from for a very long time. He fervently wished that the Decepticons would leave Earth and so too could the Autobots then leave, but that was a foolish wish; for now he contented himself in the knowledge that both SHIELD and GIJoe allowed them to operate independently of the Government, which allowed better control and containment of Decepticon conflicts.  
And yet now there was a much greater threat to Human life; Wheeljack's attempt at solving the energy crisis, the Infinity Engine should never have been built. Rising from his private desk he made his way from the room; time would not permit feeling sorry for this humans' lost soul any longer, it was time for action, time to find the Decepticons, time to prepare the attack on the Gabor offshore oil platforms to stop them from gaining access to unlimited energy, time to resume the war.

* * *

Eventually we were back at the mansion and in the back yard; each of the girls had changed into more appropriate attire for flying, I marched in front of the ranks hands behind back examining their choices, they were all mostly giggling at my militaristic display.

"Ok I can carry you smaller girls, but for the older girls we're going to have to improvise." I began silently thinking to myself that this might be considered a waste of valuable time; then again a lot of kids dreamed of flying, and since I didn't have any pixie dust handy I could at least let them experience the same joy I felt. _My powers don't need to be used for the sake of good and justice all the time.  
_"And of course we'll need to take turns." I added with a grin.

"So who goes first?" Lela asked; I rubbed my jaw thoughtfully as I tapped my foot slightly in a show of thinking, perhaps a little too showy, but I was having just as much fun as the girls were about to.

"Well we could do it in groups of four; though it would put a strain on me." I trailed off as the girls eyed me worriedly and I shot them an encouraging smile. "Ok Ba Nee I'll take you first along with Lela, Becky and Delaree." I stated.

"How?" Becky wondered as I helped Ba Nee climb up onto my back; I smiled knowingly and stood fifteen feet back from the group.

"Come over here you three." I summoned beckoning with my finger; they shot one another a curious look and shrugged doing as I requested.

"I don't know about this." Becky admitted as I closed my eyes with a smile. "I mean it seems like we're exploiting Al for our own amusement and… Wow." She finished as she found herself hovering above the ground.

"Oh; this is a little more frightening then I'd thought." Delaree observed trembling a little.

"Relax." I calmly stated. "I've simply erected a gravity field around us preventing the Earth's own natural gravity from affecting you, as long as you don't fly too far away from me, and thus leave the confines of the field you'll be able to approximate flight." I explained maneuvering the field and by extension us slightly.

"So, how far does this field go?" Lela wondered curiously as Becky and Delaree began to experiment; they were hopeless.

"Not far I'm afraid; and it's really taxing if I have to keep it up for more then four people." I replied with a grimace.

"Can we fly now?" Ba Nee asked her arms wrapped tighter around my neck as her fear rose a little; I smiled glancing at her briefly.

"First we'd better make sure the girls can stick with us; so we'll start slow." I stated brining us over to the roof; Delaree and Becky still hadn't gotten the hang of it, but seeing Lela begin to move as though she were swimming helped them to catch on. Soon they were whizzing about the fairly large gravity field; it spanned the length of the driveway for Starlight Mansion, just to be on the safe side and so it was fairly large. They laughed with joy and occasionally one of them would be lowered to the roof so Ba Nee could also float around and practice flying; naturally they soon began to try out tricky maneuvers and Ba Nee shouted with glee that she was a fairy and the others couldn't catch her to force her to use her magic powers. I smiled fondly at this display of innocence; and allowed the first group forty-five minutes of uninterrupted bliss, but then we needed to let all the girls have equal time.  
"Ok; time for the second group; you four have had your fun." I said eliciting a pout and a chorus of oh no's, but reluctantly they allowed me to return them to the ground; before moving on to group two I sucked in a bit of energy from the house to keep my strength up.

"Come on Nancy; you're the shortest in our group Al has to carry you." Joellen pleaded as Krissie and Marianne fidgeted in nervousness. Nancy shook her head emphatically and kept her distance from the three others in her group; she was eyeing me with trepidation and a sudden thought hit me.

"Could I talk to Nancy for a minute?" I requested; the others nodded and moved away from us, Nancy fidgeted nervously and kept her head down. "You afraid of me, or heights?" I asked in a low tone trying to ease her fears; she shuffled her feet and shook her head once then nodded, I smiled and knelt so I could look her in the eyes. "You want to know a secret? I'm afraid of heights too, but when I'm floating up there my fears dissipate; you want to know why?" I wondered; she looked at me skeptically and I grinned this time. "It's true I'm not scared even though I've always feared heights; because I'm in control up there and that means you'll be perfectly safe." She still didn't seem eager though; I let out a sigh and finally decided it would be criminal to try and force her to come if she really didn't want to.  
"Ok, you don't have to come if you really don't want to." I relented rising back up and beckoning the others to come back.

"Is Nancy coming?" Marianne asked hopefully.

"No I'm afraid not, but that doesn't mean you can't." I replied; the others nodded in understanding and soon the four of us were floating above the roof. The three girls had loads of fun defying gravity; although Marianne's heart was clearly only half into it, and I could see Nancy from here and even at this distance I could tell her face was glistening with tears. That just tore at my heart like nothing else could; after the second group was finished the others approached, Becky was with them and I was afraid she wanted a second chance.

"We're going inside ok?" She asked.

"Sure, but if anything's up come get me right away." I returned with a knowing look; Becky nodded and shot me a thumbs' up.

"We've got a good three hours before we have to get ready for the concert." She reminded. "And standing around watching them fly isn't my idea of fun." She added before dashing off; I chuckled and knelt down so Terri could climb on my back.

"You won't let me fall?" She asked nervously.

"Of course not sprite." I replied with a second chuckle; as we took off, soon the last of the Starlight girls were having a grand time flying around and learning what it was like to defy the Earth's gravity. I didn't do much myself; a good strategy this way I wasn't expending much energy and of course that allowed me to maintain my focus for longer than usual, at least in situations like this.

"Thanks." Ashley stated hovering a few feet above me; I smiled and assumed a meditative position.

"No big, just promise you won't make a habit out of asking me this, I don't think Jerrica would approve." I requested with a wink.

"No problem." She returned before kicking off and backstroking through the air leisurely; I wondered if some of them might pursue astronaut careers after this, in order to experience total weightlessness again.

"I wanted to ask you something." Terri whispered from her current perch on my back.

"About what?" I wondered curiously; Terri fidgeted slightly and then sighed.

"Was it ok for me to sleep in your room last night?" She asked softly; I smiled at that and nodded.

"Believe me I'm used to it; Amy's not much younger then you and she spends a lot of time sleeping in my room, of course she has her own bed, but it's not a problem." I returned gently; Terri laughed slightly and let out a sigh of relief before shifting once again on my back.

"What are Deidre and Anne doing?" She wondered suddenly shifting further as she looked over to our left; I glanced over in concern and saw the two older girls floating much closer to each other then I'd deem appropriate.

"Nothing, er I mean nothing we need to be concerned about." I hastily replied averting my eyes; Ashley came up to us with a frown.

"I think we're done." She stated; I nodded in agreement and made a quick whistle.

"Ok girls time to go in; Jerrica and the others will be back soon and I don't think they'd appreciate finding us up here." I called out; Anne pulled her hand out of Deidre's' pocket and both girls blushed openly picking up the double entendre in my words. I brought us down to the ground and both girls ran inside, most likely eager to finish what they started; Ashley trudged after them with a glare and I led Terri inside sighing inwardly at some of the things I was faced with.

"Those two were touching each other in ways they shouldn't." She stated causing me to ram into the counter as my head snapped around to look at the eight year old girl.

"Er; I'm really not the one to explain that to you." I moaned rubbing my thigh with a wince, though I knew from experience the pain would be gone in seconds.

"Should I ask Jerrica then?" She wondered obviously wishing to understand better; I took a deep breath and nodded.

"Please and thank you." I stated heading for my room so I could get a quick recharge from the solar battery and figure out what to wear for my date, which served to bring back a twisted knot of thoughts, problems and belly-bats nesting in my stomach and mind. _Oi; I sure hope something crops up to distract me, because if I keep thinking about Rogue like this I'm going to make myself sick._

* * *

As if in answer to his prayers Al heard a soft sobbing sound coming from behind one of the doors and paused; it was coming from Nancy's room he could tell even though he'd never seen which rooms belonged to all the girls. Softly knocking at the door he heard movement from within and then she popped her head out; when she saw who it was she nearly slammed the door, but seemed to think better of it. She lowered her head dejectedly and then beckoned him in with a sad sigh; Al seriously didn't know what could be bothering her, but he fervently hoped she'd open up to him. Her room was perfectly maintained; everything was in its place and everything had a place to be in, apparently Nancy was a neat freak, maybe even one of those people who needed to control everything in their lives.She closed the door behind Al and took a seat on her bed pulling a large teddy bear into a tight embrace as she rocked back and forth.

"You're really upset; because you didn't go flying like your friends?" He wondered taking a seat beside her; she shook her head negatively and Al quirked an eyebrow in surprise, there was something else going on here. "Then may I ask why? And please don't shut me out, I'm the only adult here right now and I want to help." He encouraged; she wiped her hand across her eyes and climbed back to her feet, taking him by the hand she led Al into her private bathroom and he grew steadily nervous, if she'd experienced her first period he was definitely not ready for that, then again she was only eleven. Silently Nancy pulled back her sleeve and stuck her arm in the sink, which Al noticed had a bit of water in it; curiously he watched her as her entire arm seemed to waver as though steam were coming off of it.  
In the next instant; before Al could even register what he was seeing water began gushing from her palm spraying into the sink, he took a surprised step back and looked up to the girl's face. She stopped the flow; though it was difficult for her and Al could see the pain and anguish in her eyes, she didn't know how he'd react, she didn't know what was happening to her and now Al also understood her attitude towards him. She'd never known another mutant before; her powers most likely just manifested thus she had little control over them, she was jealous of him, jealous because he could control his powers and had been openly flaunting them in front of her on and off since last night. Gently he reached out to touch the child's shoulder, but she shied away and Al found himself frowning deeply troubled by her reaction.  
"I'm sorry, oh Nancy I am so, so sorry. You were crying because you were jealous of me and my control. And you didn't want to fly with the rest of us because you felt you might grow too afraid and lose your shaky control over your own powers." He whispered in deep sympathy; she nodded and crossed her arms adopting a bitter expression as at last she spoke.

"I hate it; when Jerrica finds out she'll have to send me away." She stated ever so softly. "I don't want to leave my friends here; we're like family, the only family I've got left ever since my mom…" She trailed off about to break into tears once again.

"Nonsense." Al retorted. "Although she will most likely have to send you to the proper school in order for you to learn control over this ability; it's a dangerous one, I think and you definitely need some help mastering it." He added speaking his thoughts aloud; Nancy's face fell again she didn't know of any such schools in existence, but Al shot her a warm smile.  
"And as it just so happens; I am a teacher at this school, so to speak." He revealed bringing slight hope to the child, but she shot him a disbelieving look.

"Yeah right; is this the part where you tell me I'm special and will be attending a school in England?" She demanded averting her gaze; Al chuckled softly and shook his head using his tendrils briefly to force the child to look back at him, though gently and only so that she could see the conviction and truth in his eyes.

"Oh yes Nancy you're a wizard." He quipped a twinkle in his eye; Nancy did not look impressed or amused. "But there is a school in Westchester, it's a very nice place; and the man in charge is a personal acquaintance of mine. His name is Professor Charles Xavier." He informed; and Nancy could contain herself no longer, the hope bubbled forth in her eyes and Al laughed as she began to throw him all kinds of questions. He did his best to answer them, but when she asked him her last question his face fell a little.

"Would it take long?" She asked clearly willing, yet wavering on the edge of certainty and uncertainty.

"That I can not say, it will all depend on which kind of power you possess." He explained. "You might have to move away for a while." She slumped her shoulders at that and began to cry again; her distress was so great that water poured out onto the floor as whatever control she had was shattered. Al tried frantically to console her, but to little avail; finally she stopped however and swayed nearly collapsing. Al turned the tap on with a quick flick of his magnetic mental control and then drew the water into a glass sitting on the sink.

"Quickly drink this." He urged handing her the glass; she gulped it down and demanded more obviously she was dehydrated, he gave it to her and it wound up taking three more full glasses to steady her again.

"If it means that this won't happen anymore I'll do whatever it takes." She finally gasped; Al knew that this was hard for her, but if she didn't learn proper control it could kill her.

"I'll call the Professor right away and let him know so that he can come down and help us discuss this with Jerrica and the others." He stated shooting her an encouraging smile; she nodded sullenly and Al left heading once more for his room, all thoughts of Kimber, his true feelings for Rogue and the impending date no longer troubling his mind.

* * *

Rogue hovered outside the mansion not far from the back door; she'd arrived earlier and had seen Al allowing the girls to fly within his gravity field, she'd seen how happy he was taking care of these girls and she couldn't blame him. She knew how much he missed his daughter; each one of these girls replaced a part of Amy that he was missing, be it her innocence at the world, or her caring nature. She still clutched her duffle bag; she didn't want to cause a problem now not with all those girls awake, she decided she'd come back later that night when most of them would be asleep, that way if her heart was going to be broken there wouldn't be so many witnesses.

* * *

Grabbing the solar battery I absorbed a quick recharge and marveled once again at how the energy felt entering my being; as I began to select my wardrobe for the evening I used my tendrils to input the numbers needed into the communication system imbedded in the watch face, and believe me compacting a futuristic telephone design into a watch was not easy, Q probably helped me at some point.

"Hello." The gruff voice of Logan answered.

"Hey bub, I need to speak to the Professor." I stated placing my best black pants onto the bed and moving on to the shirts.

"Sure thing Kilowatt." Logan returned before his presence diminished some; not long after I picked up the hum of Xavier's electric wheelchair.

"Yes Mister Rutherford; is there a problem?" He inquired.

"More then one." I muttered to myself finally settling on a navy blue checker patterned shirt; I didn't have any ties and hoped it wouldn't be important. "There's a real doozie that could use your particular assistance." I explained speaking louder knowing he probably hadn't missed my earlier muttering, but deciding against following that train of thought any further. "Professor one of the girls here has just recently developed mutant powers; she has very little control, but she is afraid to leave here for any extended period of time… She's grown up here; spent her life surrounded by the others and they've become more then just friends, they're a family to her." I began pulling out a change of socks. "I told her as much as I felt practical about you and the institute; she wants to give it a try, with the understanding that she won't be there for the rest of her life… I let her know you might be able to help her, but I also told her that depending on her power… Well; she just has to learn control, her powers involve water and it seems to drain her quite a lot, dehydrating her." I finished. "Could you perhaps come over tomorrow to help inform the adults in charge of her; and further learn just what her power entails?" I asked.

"Of course young man; it seems there is more good you can do there then here, perhaps Roma planned all this." He mused and I could tell he was smiling at that.

"No doubt; I suppose you'll be bringing some of the others along." I surmised as I turned to leave and have a quick late lunch.

"Yes; Hank and Ororo most likely, you will prepare everyone before we arrive?" He stated it was not a question, I smiled.

"Sure thing Prof; oh and Professor she's only eleven, so do try to be tactful." I requested; the Professor chuckled before saying goodbye and hanging up, I severed the connection on my end and made my way to the kitchen, I knew meeting Hank McCoy was going to be quite the treat for those staying here.

* * *

I recorded the entire concert, it was such a cool show I couldn't resist; and since it was a benefit deal Jem and the Holograms were wearing their flashy Glitter N' Gold outfits. Just watching them perform like that made me feel like a kid again and the girls really dug it too judging by their enthusiastic cheers. After the concert there came the dinner buffet and the mingling among guests; Kimber was so thrilled to have me as a date she didn't even think about carting me around to show off to anyone else.

"I'm really grateful you agreed to be my date." She stated holding my hand in hers and looking up with loving eyes.

"Yes, well…" I stammered decidedly uncomfortable now that the whole date thing was in full motion; I couldn't stop comparing her to Rogue in that stunning red sequined dress, even though Kimber was extremely attractive I was beginning to feel as I had in the later stages of my relationship with Serenity. Uncertain; unwilling and yet also willing to give it a try, so as not to hurt her feelings.

"Mister Rutherford." Jem called as she approached us three people in tow. "This is Lindsey Pierce; she's been dieing to meet you." She explained indicating the older blonde haired woman in the ordinary looking green dress.

"A pleasure." Lindsey greeted shaking hands; her grip was firm, yet lighter then Rio's upon our first encounter.

"And of course you already know Video and…"

"Clash!" I blurted cutting Jem off; I was totally shocked, for good reason too. Clash was standing beside her cousin done up in an elegant if slightly plain looking navy blue dress; her hair had been styled and the streaks taken out, and her cymbals were nowhere to be found, her face was very subdued and there was no makeup.

"Yeah; it's me." She admitted in a very subdued and sorrow filled tone. "And it's Constance." She added before moving off heading for the buffet table; I could tell I wasn't the only one surprised at her less then enthusiastic or jeering attitude.

"What's up with her?" Kimber wondered a hint of concern in her voice; even though the Holograms had no love for the Misfits they at least showed compassion for their enemies, unlike said Misfits.

"She won't tell me, but ever since she got that phone call this morning she's been so different." Video replied her own worry much stronger and easily more apparent. "I found her in her room crying, twice." She added in a low tone.

"She's really taking the break up hard." Jem surmised; Video shook her head.

"I don't think it's just that anymore," She countered. "She mentioned a confrontation she had with Pizzazz that day and well… I'd better stick with her, she's had a few glasses of wine already and I don't want her to drink herself into a stupor." She added taking her leave.

"So you've been taking care of the Starlight girls." Lindsey spoke up turning to look at me and obviously attempting to dispel the somber atmosphere Clash's mood had created. "Must be quite the handful."

"Not really; I have some experience with raising girls, though admittedly not teenagers." I returned with a grin; Kimber smiled and moved even closer to me, I visibly tensed up and couldn't help, but feel that it was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Craig." Aja exclaimed happily rushing to embrace her long time lovers' form; Craig Phillips smiled, he was still trying to make his own career work despite a few set backs, but that didn't mean he couldn't come into town on occasion.

"Hey Aja; I see you're looking you're best as always." He complimented leaning forward to kiss her briefly. "Have you seen Stormer today; she wasn't at the Gabor mansion or her own house?" He asked; Aja shook her head.

"We haven't heard or seen the Misfits since three weeks ago; before the bankruptcy thing, I hope she's not taking it too hard, I think I'll ask Jerrica to extend an invitation for her to join up again, we could use a back up member since Raya's still in London." Aja returned; Craig smiled gratefully, but inside he feared what his sister might be doing. Shana chose that moment to show up with Anthony on her arm.

"Why hello Craig; a pleasure to see you again." She greeted.

"Yes; sorry to hear your latest gig fell through." Anthony added; Craig dismissed the concern with a wave.

"It's nothing; a minor setback." He stated. "Ever since Jetta and I got together we've been managing to keep things going, her talents more then make up for her obnoxiousness; and Rapture keeps her in check… I think the two of them might be up to something behind the lime lights." He added conspiratorially.

"I doubt that, Rapture always did have it bad for Riot." Aja returned with a roll of her eyes. "Uh oh; I think our Kimber is trying just a little too hard to ignore Al's unease." She added spotting the one-sided couple; Al hadn't even offered to dance with Kimber once, and he kept glancing at his watch out of the corner of his eyes.

"So that's the new friend." Anthony remarked. "I'm surprised Kimber would pick someone so young." He added.

"He's older then he looks." Shana countered with a slight smile. "I overheard him mentioning his age to Ba Nee the other day." She added with a knowing smirk.

"I wish Kimber wouldn't try so hard." Aja sighed. "I want her to be as happy as we are, she's the only one in the band who hasn't had a steady boyfriend for longer then three months and she deserves some happiness." She added.

"But I don't think Al is interested." Craig pointed out adopting the term of familiarity despite having never met the man.

"His hearts already spoken for." Shana noted with a slight frown of pity. "Well; it was nice seeing you again Craig, I think Anthony was just about to ask me to dance." She added shooting a loving smile up at her love; part of her wished he'd just ask her to marry her already, neither of them were getting any younger, but Anthony wasn't ready for commitment, she respected that, even if he never became ready.

* * *

After two more hours the party was over; it was running late, Aja and Shana had been forced to leave early in order to get the girls home in time for bed for the youngest ones, Rio, Jerrica, Kimber and Al were the last to return at eleven oh clock. Kimber led the group up to the back door laughing all the way; Al could tell his date was a little drunk and it didn't sit well with him, he had a bad experience with relatives who couldn't hold their liquor.  
Her eyes sparkled when she saw her sister kissing Rio goodnight and before her own escort could protest she had pulled him into a tight locking of lips as well. He tried desperately to push her aside, but she must have really wanted this because her grip was just too tight; and he didn't want to use his powers because it would be inappropriate.

"Allan!" An unfamiliar voice exclaimed as something tumbled to the ground in the distance; all eyes trailed up to find Rogue hovering a good fifteen feet up and seventeen feet away from the rear entrance. The pain in her eyes made Al want to scurry away as Kimber eyed the unfamiliar woman with a look of confusion and unease, what this looked like from Rogue's perspective was not the same way it felt like from Al's.

"Rogue." He tried to explain, but it was apparent to everyone she didn't want to listen.

"Ah see yah're promise meant nothin'." She snapped bitterly. "Ah can't believe yah'd do this tah mah, knowin' what yah know." She added beginning to rise further up into the air.

"Please let me explain." Al pleaded reaching out and halting her seeming gradual retreat with his powers.

"NAH! Yah can't give mah some excuse; Ah'm nevah listen' tah yah again and fer all Ah care yah can stay here wit' yah're new girl!" She screamed breaking out of his hold by causing him to lose his emotional center; she took off high into the air and was soon gone. And a part of Al felt like it had went with her; he trembled with a rage that spilled out from his very core and before the eyes of the three spectators of this unfolding drama he whirled upon the mansion and slammed his fist into the wall, hard, it shattered on impact and Kimber gasped.

"Why? Why did I let myself try to make both women happy? Why couldn't I just say no to Her?" He spat shooting a glare at Kimber; her body trembled as she realized she'd taken this supposedly harmless infatuation a tad to far, but she loved him couldn't he see that? "Is this my curse? Was I being self-destructive? I don't want to be alone, I can't be alone, not ten million years… I…" He slumped to the ground trailing off from his rant as he burst into tears of bitter self-recrimination; Kimber uncertainly reached for him, but he shook her aside leaping back to his feet, by now his fist had healed though only Jerrica and Rio seemed to notice this.

"Al." Kimber tried to comfort, but he wasn't hearing her or seeing the heartache she was beginning to feel.

"I felt the connection; my mistress was I wrong? When Rogue and I first touched I felt the connection, and yet I let her bring a small spark to my soul, one of pity, but still a spark nevertheless." Jerrica didn't like very much how Al kept referring to her sister in such a derogatory manner, but before anyone else could even think to speak he rose swiftly into the air heading for one of the upstairs windows. "I can't deal with this now; where's Q when you need him, I feel like venting and he's always good for a few punches." He muttered softly to himself not caring if the others heard him.

"I." Kimber began haltingly as her heart began to break inside. "I didn't realize he was so in love with that woman." She moaned as she too began to weep.

"Oh Kimber." Jerrica whispered wrapping her sister in a hug. "I don't think he's even aware of just how deeply he feels." She added as she patted her sibling on the back; Rio said nothing he merely took this as his cue to leave.

"I never had a chance with him." Kimber softly wailed. "I knew that; I saw it, but I chose not to see it… Why don't I have any luck with men?"

"You do; you've just got to stop hating yourself over every bad decision you've made or they've made." Jerrica soothed; Kimber sighed softly as the sobs quickly became under control again and together the two women entered the mansion, only to find another unwanted surprise waiting inside.

"Stormer!" Both women exclaimed at the sight of the former Misfit; Stormer looked up from the cup of coffee she'd been nursing, her eyes were puffy as if she'd been crying for hours and her clothes were a mess. At the sight of Kimber she ran over to her somewhat friend and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"Oh Kimber it's horrible." She proclaimed; Kimber was taken aback at this and awkwardly returned the hug.

"What's wrong?" She wondered. "Why are you here?"

"Haven't you heard?" Stormer blurted; she suddenly felt like crying all over again, but she'd shed all the tears she could. "I just couldn't stay there anymore; knowing what Pizzazz did, oh God Kimber she's…" She choked back the words and buried her face in her friends' shoulder shuddering at the renewed pain of her emotions.

"There, there." Kimber tried to sooth; she was hurting so much from her own wounds she didn't think she could be the rock that Stormer obviously needed, but she couldn't let her friend down.

"Stormer what happened?" Jerrica asked softly. "Did Pizzazz kick you out?"

"Worse, much worse." Stormer wailed. "She, she just couldn't cope… She killed her f-f-father and then committed suicide." She finally got out; Jerrica gasped and Kimber began to feel like her whole world had just been turned upside down and was spiraling into the ocean. She felt her knees begin to buckle and she found herself falling to the floor; Stormer was forced to hold her up.

"Good God." She whispered unable to think of anything else to say.

"Can I stay here tonight?" Stormer asked Jerrica hopefully.

"Of course." The elder Benton managed to find her voice and led the despondent Stormer towards the other room. "Kimber will you be ok while I show Stormer a room?" She asked in a remarkably subdued tone, but Kimber didn't answer. "Kimber?" Jerrica turned to see the back door opened and swinging slightly; her face fell, but she had to see to Stormer first.

* * *

Kimber ran as she wept; she couldn't see where she was going, but she didn't want to face any more of this reality. She didn't get too far though before she tripped over something and wrenched her ankle; she bit back a curse and looked to see what had felled her.  
It was a harmless looking small duffle bag; or at least it looked small from where it lay, when she got a closer look she saw it was much bigger. She didn't recognize it, but she also didn't care to run any more so she curled up beside it; wrapped her arms over her legs and rocked back and forth as she wept. Rogue of all people found her like that thirty minutes later; she'd been so upset it took her twenty minutes to realize she'd dropped her luggage and ten to get back here. She didn't want anything to do with the woman that stole Allan from her, but a part of her was moved to such pity when she saw her like that she just had to do something.

"Ah suppose he dumped yah too." She remarked bitterly landing beside the woman; Kimber looked up in shock only to glare daggers at Rogue.

"For your information he didn't say one damn word directly to me on the subject; he just broke his fist punching the wall, muttered some stuff to himself about not wanting to be alone and other gibberish I didn't quite understand and then went upstairs to his room. She spat back vehemently.

"Then why are yah out here?" Rogue wondered confused now; she'd been ready to hate this woman, or at least join her in hating Al together, but this was unknown.

"My friend just told me that someone we both knew committed suicide." Kimber explained wondering why she was even bothering to tell her anything. "On top of our little drama surrounding Al I just couldn't stay there right now." She added hotly.

"Oh mah." She gasped; Rogue felt really bad now, it must have just happened after she left and now… "Ah'm sorry, Ah…" She trailed off averting her eyes and spotted her bag next to Kimber. Bending down she picked it up and slung it back over her shoulder; she turned back to Kimber and sighed. "Ah'll leave yah alone with yah're grief then; and Ah'm really sorry." She whispered preparing to take off.

"Wait!" Kimber cried grabbing Rogue's arm; the X-Man was so startled she actually obeyed the woman. "You can't go, I've been so foolish; and tonight has had enough painful memories for all of us." She proclaimed determinedly leading Rogue back to the Starlight mansion.

"But we can't change that." Rogue pointed out allowing her to be led by Kimber grateful the other woman hadn't grazed her skin when she reached out for her, or tried to take her by her hand, which was free of the glove.

"I know; and tomorrow everyone will have to face the truth, but tonight the truth can damn well wait." Kimber proclaimed; she'd had enough everything just seemed to be going so fast and she couldn't handle it right now, just as Al had admitted before going off to bed. She purposefully led Rogue through the kitchen and dining room; past the hall leading to the living room and over to the front of the house and the main staircase.

"Where are we goin'?" Rogue wondered stumbling slightly as she was hard pressed to keep up; Kimber did not reply and instead kept marching along until she reached the door she was looking for. Opening it they both found Al; he'd thrown his clothes about the room and apparently broken the floor length mirror in the corner for good measure before finally falling asleep. He whimpered in his sleep though and visibly tossed shifting from lying on his stomach to his side.

"I wanted to give my heart to this man." Kimber whispered releasing Rogue. "And despite his feelings for you he did try to accept even with his conflicting emotions, but even I could see his heart already belonged to another." She added turning to look pointedly at Rogue.

"What are yah sayin'?" She demanded not believing that a small trace of hope seemed to have nestled back into her heart.

"I opened my heart to him, but he couldn't open his heart to me." Kimber replied soberly. "But his heart was still too big and he couldn't deny my open flirtations with him; he's just too damn noble for his own good." She continued with a wistful smile.

"Yah're tellin' me." Rogue agreed with a soft chuckle impossibly beginning to bond with this kindred soul, even though she'd been a rival for Al's affections in part.

"Don't shun him for his own foolishness." Kimber pleaded. "Stay here with him tonight and make up in the morning; I tore him apart and caused him no end of indecisiveness… If I can't love him; then you should for the both of us." She finished lowering her head in renewed grief, but surprisingly feeling lighter now that she'd had this chance with the object of Al's affections.

"Thank yah." Rogue returned hugging Kimber carefully so as not to touch her accidentally with her skin. "Ah'm sorry there can't be one of him for the both of us." She added genuinely. "But Ah understand what yah've been goin' through; believe me he hasn't been the only one torn, Ah didn't really know if Ah should start a relationship with him earlier, but now…" She admitted trailing off; Kimber smiled proudly and looked once more upon the troubled face of her sleeping love.

"He at least deserves happiness." She stated feeling hot tears well up once more.

"Don't feel so bad Sugah." Rogue returned smiling at this kindred spirit in spite of herself. "Ah'm certain yah'll find someone just fer yah." She added sagely.

"I don't know." Kimber admitted with a sigh. "I've never truly felt this way about a man before, the way he's so good to the girls, the fact that I could see us building a family together…" She trailed off afraid of breaking down all over again.

"Yah'll feel it again." Rogue assured in a soft whisper. "Everyone finds true happiness eventually." She added squeezing Kimber's shoulder.

"Thank you." Kimber whispered exiting the room and slowly closing the door.

"And thank yah." Rogue returned with a friendly smile; who'd have thought that she'd make up with this woman and consider her a friend only forty-five minutes after first witnessing her kissing Allan so openly? Strange things definitely seemed to gravitate to the young man; that was for certain.

* * *

Roma smiled secretly watching these events as she was thanks in part to Q and his ability to see Earth Nine Twenty-Nine despite the darkness clouding its crystal from Roma's regular view.

"I can't believe it." Saturnyne exclaimed. "How can they just forgive him like that?" She demanded of no one in particular.

"Humans often do funny things when they're in love." Q remarked with a slight look of disdain. "Personally I don't see the attraction, but I must admit I find this one's hopeless romanticism endearing." He admitted with a sly grin before vanishing quite suddenly.

"I'll believe that Q enjoys tormenting him before I believe that." Saturnyne scoffed before taking her own leave and leaving Roma alone, save for the silent observer from Earth Prime who was in her own dimension observing all.

"Two soul mates?" Roma asked curiously.

"It is not unheard of." Earth Prime's God returned in a soft tone a pain all too real in that tone. "After all I didn't create love for myself." She added with a light chuckle; Roma smiled and turned her attentions elsewhere once more, Earth Six Sixteen was proving bothersome again and she needed to take a look into its problems.

To Be Continued; **Awwwww how sweet; Kimber helped Rogue and Al finally get together, so to speak, I'm sure once our hero wakes up in the morning he's going to be in for a very special surprise. ;) Anyway; what's going to happen next time on Sea of Turmoil? Will more of the Decepticons plans get revealed, will Al learn of their involvment, will Cobra return? Who knows; there's still Friday, Saturday and Sunday to get through of the first week and then a whole second week of adventures and AMY! YAY FOR AL!**


	8. Chapter 8 Of Showers and Mutants

**Author's Notes: **I couldn't contain this chapter any longer; it's just too cute, too romantic, too fluffy and all around too much fun to keep bottled up; I hope all my readers will enjoy it... Major Alert; this chapter contains innuendo of a sexual nature, but seein' as how this is an M rated fic it shouldn't be too bad, not like I go into full on detail mode... At least I hope I don't wind up offending anybody; as time goes on I can almost guarantee an upgrade to the adult oriented scenes; a lot more so then when I wrote Al/Serenity pairings back in my Star Trek Voyager stories. I do try to keep them tame though; there's no full on descriptive stuff from one moment to another like you'd find in those Japanese Hentai dealies or the like... Anyway I think I've said enough; can't be too careful where rules apply though, so if you're a minor be fairly warrned, skip over the shower scene if you please.

* * *

I stirred dreamily in my sleep; for some reason I didn't know why I'd stopped suffering the nightmares sometime during the night and had managed to at last find a peaceful sleep. Yawning briefly as I slowly opened my eyes I suddenly experienced a very strange feeling; moving my hand slightly I felt a strong though lithe feminine arm clutching me by the chest. My eyes widened in fear; if Kimber had come in here last night there would be no way of getting Rogue to understand anything, if she even talked to me ever again. Shifting as carefully as I could so as not to awaken the unknown woman I glanced over my shoulder to see if my fears were justified.  
My eyes expanded to the size of saucers and I felt a smile of pure joy creep up upon me; what did this mean? What **could** this mean? She stirred slightly and opened her eyes blearily; the evidence of her pain filled tears was still visible and my heart sunk into my stomach with my guilt, but the smile of greeting she shot me gave me hope. 

"Good mornin' Sugah." She greeted softly rubbing my chest playfully and warmth began to spread through my entire being.

"What? How? Why?" I stammered at a complete loss; her smile broadened.

"That Ms. Benton of yours definitely has a way of makin' yah see the light." She returned grinning warmly; that knocked me for a loop and I was clearly stunned, but it left me wondering more. Like why Rogue had come back in the first place and why would Kimber do something like that for me? Rogue pulled herself tighter next to me and literally nuzzled the top of my head with her cheek.  
"Ah just love bein' able tah touch yah." She revealed marveling at her bare skin as her hand rubbed over my chest once again.

"Does this mean I am forgiven?" I wondered running my fingers up her arm slowly to reciprocate the gentle and loving caress.

"Ah don't know; seein' yah kissin' another woman really hurt mah." She revealed her tone cracking a little; I frowned once more stroking her arm in a show of apology.

"I'm really sorry; I was so conflicted when Kimber confessed her feelings for me… I don't know how to make it up to you; or if I can." I admitted sighing with regret; Rogue stroked my chest and sighed back.

"We'll have to take it slow Ah suppose." She began as I turned fully to face her; she smiled briefly and curled up into my arms with a sigh of content. "But Ah think we can recover from this." She added closing her eyes and reveling at the strength of my arms, the touch of my bare skin.

"I hope so." I murmured kissing her forehead, her eyelids and then her lips. She opened her eyes and smiled at me snuggling even closer; if that were even possible, I smiled back and then the mood was broken as my door flew open.

"Time to wake up!" Anne called out loudly before she caught sight of what was going on her cheeks burst aflame in embarrassment. "Oh sorry." She apologized meekly and quickly slammed the door shut not even bothering to ask how Rogue had gotten here or why. I started to laugh uncontrollably and kept laughing even when Rogue shot me a confused hurt look.

"What's so funny?" She demanded.

"Nothing much; you just helped me get even with her for embarrassing me." I revealed continuing to laugh.

"How'd she do that?" Rogue wondered; I whispered in her ear and her eyes widened slightly before she shot me a mischievous look and playfully punched my arm. "Come on let's get ready; Ah have a feelin' somethin' big'll be goin' on today."

"No kidding; the Prof is coming to talk with one of the girls, she's just starting to develop her powers." I revealed with a sigh as I got up and headed over to the bathroom; Rogue followed eliciting a blush as I caught sight of her naked form, she blushed as well, but put aside her inhibitions and quietly closed the door.

"What kind of power?" She asked as I put the shower on as though this was something of a natural event for us, I sighed as I turned briefly to eye her, taking in the curvature of her body… It's true what they say; those skintight outfits she wore as an X-Man left little to the imagination.

"I'm not entirely sure; water began pouring out of her palm and arm…" I paused uncertain of why Rogue had decided to join me in here; though I suspected her motives and couldn't fault her, who knew what time we had left together and if she wanted to do everything she knew normal couples did who was I to deny her? "It dehydrates her something fierce; I suspect she draws upon her own natural source, and she has a great deal of difficulty controlling it." I added.

"Ah know what that's like; so does Scott." Rogue observed with a slight frown. "But Ah'm sure the Professah can help." She added with genuine conviction.

"I hope so; she's only eleven." I shut my eyes with a piteous expression; Rogue squeezed my shoulder encouragingly and shot me a warm smile.

"So are we going to get cleaned up or what?" She asked enjoying the expression of surprise on my face despite my knowing; or suspecting what she'd wanted.

"You, me together?" I stammered nervously; we had just gotten back together so to speak, though we'd never been together before. Our feelings were genuine; my connection to her was real, I found myself feeling for this woman in ways I'd never felt for Serenity, there was no desire to make love simply for the act or the pleasure. Instead there was simply the urge to be with her, hold her, express my tender devotion to her and give her the happiness she deserved.

"Of course Sugah." She stated with a chuckle. "It'll be faster yah know." She added placing a hand on her hip and swaying her body slightly into a highly arousing pose; at least it would have been highly arousing if I wasn't fighting my bodies natural instincts to prevent embarrassment on both our parts.

"Ok, but don't make a big deal." I pleaded stripping out of my boxers and revealing my full form to her; Serenity had always complimented me on the length of my manhood, something the Nanoprobes had expanded upon as well when I was reconstructed. Rogue's eyes widened as she caught sight of me and she grinned openly with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, a hunger hidden just beneath the surface.

"Oh Sugah; Ah'm glad we made up." She cooed pulling me towards the shower with a giggle; I found myself grinning at her opinion and used my power to lock the bathroom door, just in case someone came looking for us. She hopped into the shower and I quickly joined her feeling only mildly conscientious concerning our surroundings; once we got in however Rogue seemed to grow distant as she let the water flow over her body. I surmised that she must have still been hurting a little; so instead of trying to get her to open up I merely did what any good boyfriend would, I started to rub her back with the soap. She stiffened slightly before relaxing and putting her trust with me; I smiled as I rubbed her back slowly at first, but soon assumed a normal pace.  
She cooed once again and pulled herself up next to me and took the soap from my hand so she could reach my back. I felt a tingle of excitement run down my spine at both her nearness and her touch, the same experience most virgins probably would feel in such close proximity to a very attractive woman for the first time. Partly the nanoprobes fault; intimate touch was augmented by them, it was most likely a byproduct of the Queen's intent to make me a subservient and willing mate for her brood, a thought which sickened me, yet in situations like this made me oh so slightly grateful for the experience. She looked into my eyes then with true endearment and stretched so she could kiss me on the lips; I pulled her closer and reveled in her taste, my eyes closed as I indulged my desire to kiss her long and hard, she ran her hands over my back as the steam from the hot water rose about us seemingly embracing us. Soon we were forced to part or risk collapsing from lack of Oxygen; Rogue looked a little flustered. "Perhaps Ah was mistaken in this bein' quicker." She teased batting at my chest playfully.

"Here let me do your hair." I requested picking up the bottle of shampoo and doing my best to ignore the sensations from my loins.

"Ok; at least it'll keep yah're hands off me." She relented teasing me again as she shot me a wink.

"I wouldn't exactly say that." I retorted playfully as I began to lather up her hair. "Oh how I've longed to brush your auburn locks dear beauty." I whispered in her ear exciting her with my lovers tone; I was careful to keep the shampoo from falling in her eyes so I could still see the expressiveness within, her cheeks flushed slightly and her gaze was drawn downwards to her lower body. Briefly I glanced curious as to what she looked like; when I saw that some of the wetness was not caused by water I swiftly averted my gaze, her body was acting rather sensitive for this light fair, and I say light in comparison to some of the foreplay Serenity and I shared.

"Yeah; well Ah get tah do yah next Sugah." She whispered back with a grin; I chuckled at that and resumed the task at hand, partially uncertain if she was referring to her bodies' arousal or the hair washing, considering how short mine was I doubt she'd be able to run her fingers through it as deeply or longingly as I was doing hers. "Do try to be gentle Sugah; Ah'm not ready for… Ah'm just not ready." She added; I nodded in complete understanding, in a way I wasn't ready to deflower her just yet and unwilling to admit as to if I'd ever be ready.

"We'll have to condition your body not to react so eagerly next time." I stated softly. "Otherwise you're going to be extremely testy every morning we do this because of a lack of release." I added teasingly; her cheeks turned crimson at that and she pulled away sensing I'd finished already, turning she grasped the shampoo bottle from my hand and began to pour some out onto her hand.

"Turn around Sugah." She ordered slightly angered at my indiscretion; I did as she wished and winced as she began to knead the shampoo into my scalp, perhaps a tad rougher then I would have liked, but I deserved it.

* * *

"Well you certainly took your time to join us." Aja teased as Rogue and Al entered the kitchen; he appeared surprised to see Rio there so early in the morning and none of the Starlight girls seemed to be about. Rogue blushed a little, but took a seat at the kitchen table; Al got them both some breakfast and joined her. 

"Something's up." He observed noting the concerned looks everyone seemed to be shooting Jerrica.

"I'm afraid so." Jerrica acknowledged with a frown; Kimber entered then followed by Stormer and everyone seemed to sense that something big was going on if one of the former Misfits was here.

"Should Ah be here for this?" Rogue wondered nervously.

"It's ok." Stormer replied her voice indicative of deep sorrow.

"I've agreed to let Stormer stay here for a while." Jerrica explained as she crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her lower arms as if staving off a chill. "She needs a friendly place to stay; Pizzazz…" She choked off as tears began to trickle from the corner of her eyes.

"She committed suicide two nights ago after killing her father." Stormer revealed her voice hollow; Aja, Shana and Rio gasped in shock, Rogue shifted uncomfortably and the room was deathly silent as Al somehow lost his balance despite being seated and slammed his chin onto the table.

"Impossible." Aja exclaimed unable to grasp what was just revealed. "I never considered her anything more then an obnoxious brat, but I never would have expected this."

"I'm… So sorry to hear this." Rio consoled tentatively patting Stormer's shoulder; Shana couldn't say a word she looked to Stormer in sympathy as she moved her breakfast to the counter.

"It's goin' tah be tough for yah." Rogue offered moving opposite Rio and also offering a consoling squeeze of the shoulder. "Ah've lost some friends over the years Ah know how hard it is, but the pain eventually becomes bearable; and yah find the will to go on with yah're life." She added a small sigh of painful remembrance escaping her lips.

"I… Don't think I can say or do anything to express how sorry I am for your loss Mary." Al added speaking up in a very strange tone of voice that the others couldn't quite recognize; he shot Stormer a friendly smile. "But I shall try to offer as much condolence as I can; and if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask." He offered with a slight bow of his head; a sign of respect.

"Thanks; I… I don't even know you and you're willing to help." She observed with a sigh grateful for the unknown man's sympathies; he chuckled beneath his breath despite the seriousness of the situation, little did the former Misfit know just how much knowledge he truly possessed and so how much he truly knew she was going through. A sudden knock at the door made him recall something rather important and now quite urgent, but before he could voice a warning Jerrica moved to open the door and let out a startled yelp at the sight before her.

"Good morning young Ms. Benton; I am Henry McCoy, I believe you were expecting us." Hank greeted as he entered the room; the others gasped even as Ororo led the Professor inside and Al began nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Er, uh… I sort of didn't get around to telling them yet, you are kinda early Hank." He remarked smiling weakly up at the blue furred X-Man.

"Tell us what?" Jerrica asked pointedly turning to shoot a concerned glare at Al, Rio also eyed him critically.

"Perhaps this should wait until after they've had the chance to recuperate from your arrival Hank." The Professor surmised obviously sensing the deep and unguarded emotions running through most everyone in this room at the moment. The Holograms shot Al confused looks while Stormer couldn't seem to keep her eyes off Hank; Al wound up squirming under those intense stares.

"Why do I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this?" He muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Rogue.

"Past experience." She teased before resuming her breakfast; the Professor glanced at them and Al felt very troubled by that gaze, he was beginning to suspect that the Professor might not approve of the two of them beginning a relationship, especially for how much he cared about students like Rogue.

"_Oh boy._" He thought to himself once again echoing Quantum Leap.

* * *

Later in the morning we regrouped in the den; Anne, Ashley and Krissie kept following Hank around eyeing him in amazement at least until Jerrica decided that enough was enough, and of course it was rather rude of them. Pausing as I passed by Kimber I turned to her slightly and offered a very genuine smile of apology. 

"I'm sorry for how I talked about you last night after." I began only to have her place a hand on my shoulder a smile playing across her lips.

"Please; I understand." She said in a soft whisper. "Be happy." She added bringing me up short, but there was more important matters to discuss then affairs of the heart and all that; turning I resumed seeking out a seat.

"Stormer." Jerrica requested; the former Misfit smiled understandingly and ushered the girls out leaving us alone. The group took seats; the Holograms on one side and the X-Men on the other, this was going to be very delicate. Since I'd discovered Nancy and I had been hanging around here befriending everyone it fell to me to inform the girls' charges; it was how things worked with the X-Men.

"Ok Al; you called this meeting." Rio stated voicing my own inner thoughts. "Just what's the big deal?"

"This is not going to be easy." I muttered rubbing my neck nervously; _I think I've developed a nervous tick, though for the life of me I can't recall when it started…_ "First things first I suppose; these are fellow faculty members, Doctor Henry McCoy the resident physician, Ororo Munroe…Uh…" I trailed off uncertain how to address her as; she smiled at me and turned to the group.

"The horticulturist; I take care of the grounds and teach the herbology course." She supplied with a friendly grin.

"Ah yes; I'm a little nervous about this… It's my first time in the hot seat, so to speak." I apologized. "Anyway the last member is the head of the Institute, Professor Charles Xavier." I finished introductions and the holograms nodded in greeting; Jerrica turned to me and prepared to address me, I held up my hand to forestall any interruptions.  
"This Institute is a special kind of school, more so then usual; it is run by the founder of the X-Men, a group of mutants who help protect mankind from those, like Magneto, who believe that they are superior to all Homo Sapiens. Charles… Er I mean Professor Xavier believes differently however; it is his fervent hope that mankind and mutant kind can one day live together in mutual acceptance and harmony." I began wringing my hands together as I moved back and forth; I let out a brief sigh and turned to face the Holograms. "The Professor; and indeed all of the X-Men help train newly developing mutants with controlling their powers so that they can go on to lead normal productive lives without fear of accidentally unleashing their gifts at an inopportune moment. So far there are few students, but I have a feeling that, that is about to be changed; call it… A hunch." I continued smirking slightly at my own private joke; the Professor frowned slightly and Rogue in particular urged me to get to the point with her eyes.  
"I summoned them here because it has come to my recent attention that one of your own Starlight Girls has just developed her own gift; a gift that if not brought under control I fear, may inevitably lead to her own demise." I concluded explaining everything all in a rush and using a lot bigger words then I usually did.

"What?" Jerrica exclaimed gasping fearfully. "How?"

"You see Ms. Benton we aren't certain exactly which children will be born with the X-Gene, as it has been dubbed." The Professor explained gently.

"However; we have found that the powers don't usually manifest until the teenage years, except of course for those born with their gifts, young girls are especially susceptible of developing their gifts at earlier ages anywhere from ten to twelve, boys are more likely to develop theirs at twelve to fourteen." Hank elaborated as calmly and concisely as possible.

"So you're telling us that one of our girls has developed a mutant gift and you want to what? Take her away from her friends, her family?" Aja demanded glaring at us; I could not look at her under that glare.

"It is a likely possibility." The Professor replied. "Though not a permanent one." He amended.

"No way." Aja countered vehemently.

"Aja." I retorted in a soft tone. "The girl needs help; I've seen the extent of her power…" I paused expressing my concern with a frown as I remembered the extreme state of dehydration Nancy suffered from when she lost control. "If she doesn't learn control she could die, or worse; she could be discovered by Magneto and his Brotherhood and they may attempt to kidnap her in order to force her into one of their kind, misguided individuals consumed with fear for their very sub-species and hatred for those who abuse and molest us." I added lumping me into that category; making them see that even I was not above being un-tolerated by those who feared what was different.

"No!" Shana exclaimed. "How could that happen?" She demanded turning to the Professor for answers.

"There are some mutants who develop very powerful and dangerous abilities; as such they could unintentionally kill themselves if they fail to learn the proper safety measures to control them." Hank was the one to explain seeing that the Professor was unwilling to state this very real and depressing fact.

"And what powers does she possess?" Kimber wondered turning her eyes on me now; I shrugged helplessly.

"We do not yet know." I admitted. "We believe in explaining these things first to the legal guardians or parents of those who will be affected the most, before we talk with the child in question and take the physical, which can help to determine their abilities." I elaborated. "However if I was to hypothesize; I'd have to say she's a Hydrokinetic, that is to say, she has the power to control water with her mind and draws upon her own bodies' supply in order to fuel this power, much akin to the super villain known as Hydro-Man though in a far different vein." I stated.

"Who is it?" Jerrica asked in a subdued tone.

"Nancy." I replied.

"I knew she was keeping something from us." Aja exclaimed slamming the arm of her chair as she glanced around at the Holograms.

"She's so young." Shana observed frowning slightly.

"They often are." Ororo observed with a pitying sigh.

"Would she really have to leave to attend this Institute?" Jerrica asked with growing concern; the Professor smiled warmly.

"We shall have to determine that after we learn if Mister Rutherford's observations are correct concerning the extent of her gift." He replied in a friendly and understanding tone. "However I fear the child may indeed have to remain at our school until she has learned to master herself; hopefully that would only require a few days or perhaps weeks at our facility, she has expressed a great fear at never having to see her loved ones again and we can all understand and sympathize with that." He added.

"Then I suppose the next thing is for Nancy to meet all of you and demonstrate this power." Rio observed; the others nodded in agreement and I turned to leave.

"Al; where are you going?" Kimber called out.

"To fetch the girl." I replied. "She trusts me and… It is my duty to see this through the end." I added in a low tone.

"Be gentle." The Professor reminded; I chuckled at that and shot him a look as if to say, 'What do you take me for?' And then quickly left the room heading upstairs to Nancy's room where she was waiting nervously, I knocked; she opened the door a forlorn look in her eyes and she sighed when she caught sight of me.

"They're here." I revealed. "And would very much like to meet you now brave girl." I added smiling friendlily upon her; she shuddered slightly and exited her room joining me in the hall.

"Brave?" She repeated mournfully. "I really don't think that." She added; I shook my head and took her outstretched hand awkwardly and began to lead her downstairs.

"Cheer up Nan, this isn't going to change your life anymore then you wish it to." I attempted to encourage; she scoffed at that with rolled eyes and I sighed, it was indeed going to be difficult.

* * *

Jerrica approached Nancy first as the duo returned; she knelt before the girl who was partially hiding from the adults and hugged her tightly. 

"You never have to hide anything from us; we all love you no matter what." She whispered assuaging the girls fears with such a simple gesture; she turned to face Xavier and gasped when she caught sight of Hank.

"Auspicious greetings young flower." He greeted with a warm smile and a friendly wave; Nancy giggled at the flowery speech and Al grinned broadly sensing the mood had lightened.

"Hello Nancy." The Professor greeted; Nancy automatically stiffened up and her earlier fear returned. "My name is Professor Charles Xavier; Mister Rutherford has told us you have a special gift, would you care to demonstrate it?" He wondered careful to keep his tone as pleasant as possible.

"Here?" She asked glancing around nervously. "But; I'll mess up the carpet."

"It's ok." Al offered kneeling down to the girls' level. "I'll use my own gift to stop it before it gets on the rug." He added encouragingly.

"You can do that?" She wondered; Al nodded and Nancy let out a tiny sigh, before anyone could say anything else water was gushing from her palms and Al was hard pressed to catch it. The water flowed briefly taking the Holograms and Rio by surprise; after a few moments the Professor nodded.

"That will do; thank you Nancy." He stated; the girl bit her bottom lip and focused with all her strength to stop the flow. The Professor observed this with great scrutiny; and just when she began to fear she couldn't regain her center the flow ceased and a heavy sigh escaped her lips.

"Come on Sugah; lets' go get yah a drink." Rogue offered taking the cue to lend a hand; Nancy looked to Jerrica who nodded encouragingly and both left. Al floated the accumulated water over to the window, popped the latch and sent it out onto the lawn where it splashed harmlessly.

"What do you think Professor?" Ororo asked turning to her friend and mentor.

"Definitely Hydrokinetic in nature as Mister Rutherford correctly assumed; she seems to draw on the human bodies' natural water supply and disperses it from her hands." He replied as he steepled his fingers and pursed his lips in thought. "Which is why it is so physically draining; she doesn't replenish the supply she uses up, this is most unsettling."

"Can you help her?" Jerrica asked glancing fearfully at her band mates; Al took a seat now also apparently quite eager to know the response.

"In time I believe we can; she has a unique talent and I'm afraid it shall take some time to allow her control." He replied eyeing Al knowingly; the man sighed, he had hoped the child wouldn't suffer so much heartache at this change in her life.

"Time as in months, years, what?" Rio demanded moving to take Jerrica in his arms as the love of his life began to weep at the words.

"I can no more be certain of that, Mister Pacheco; then I can of the weather tomorrow." Xavier replied truthfully. "It is not an exact science by any means; some mutants never learn to control their innate gifts." He revealed speaking in a low serious tone.

"Then why should we even give the girl any false hopes?" Rio countered bitterly; Al quirked an eyebrow in confusion as Jerrica took one of Rio's hands and squeezed it.

"It would be more dangerous for the girl not to try and help her." Xavier pointed out in his gentle tone.

"But what if she never learns enough control to return?" Kimber wondered with a frown; Aja and Shana were being remarkably quiet, the African-American wept bitterly for the girl and Aja appeared almost as though in a rage.

"That is the chance we all must take." Al spoke up in a sympathetic tone startling everyone. "You're just lucky Xavier and the others are here to help Nancy; I never had that luxury and many mutants are… Persecuted into a life of exile, because of it." He admitted with a sigh.

"So what's the next step?" Aja wondered in a soft tone; Hank chuckled as he rose.

"A simple physical examination; if it's ok with you of course." He replied.

"I suppose; if it'll help Nancy." Jerrica agreed with a sigh.

"Oh boy." Al exclaimed eliciting looks of confusion and annoyance from the others in the room. "Er; sorry." He hastily apologized. "But any chance to board the Blackbird tends to make me get all childish." He added.

"Yes; our Mister Rutherford indeed has a child-like soul at heart." Hank agreed with a grin. "Even if it does tend to emerge at the most inopportune of moments." He added; Al shot the group a sheepish smirk and headed off to locate Rogue and Nancy before he did or said anything else stupidly.

* * *

Nancy was too afraid to go onto the Blackbird alone so the Professor allowed Jerrica and Rio to accompany her; the physical proved to be quick and unassuming, which left us little to do. At least until Hank compiled all the data, which he'd need the equipment back at the mansion for; so they left saying they'd be back sometime tomorrow. Rogue chose to stay behind claiming that she would keep an eye on the child, but I knew the Professor saw straight through her lie. I knew he'd want to talk with us; and yet I did not look forward to being lectured to or patronized, of course I didn't think he'd do that, but I couldn't be certain.  
I made my way to the den after lunch wondering what we could possibly do on a Friday now that the Holograms had left for work. Most of the girls had gone with them; Jerrica said they were going to help with the fundraising event Jem had scheduled and so I really wasn't needed right now. 

"What's the matter Sugah?" Rogue asked as I slumped down on one of the soft easy chairs with a sigh.

"I never thought I'd miss hanging out with those girls so much." I admitted with a wistful smile.

"Yah could have just went with'em." She pointed out; I shook my head and would have said something when the doorbell suddenly rang. I quirked an eyebrow in curiosity and left the den; as I made my way to the door Stormer stuck her head out of the living room.

"Who is it?" She wondered.

"Not a clue; Jerrica wasn't expecting anyone." I returned with a shrug; answering the door I was shocked to find the last person in the world I'd ever expect to see on the Holograms doorstep.

"Oh my God." Stormer exclaimed rushing forward as I caught the falling form of Roxy.

"Rogue!" I cried requesting assistance with my tone; Rogue dashed into the room and let out a gasp.

"She's bleeding." Stormer exclaimed starling me; I glanced at Roxy fearfully, it was true she was wounded. "Roxy what happened?" She demanded as Rogue quickly joined us with my medical tricorder; she eyed me with concern and I gently handed Roxy to Stormer.

"I was trying to cope; I really was." Roxy began coughing a little as I covertly scanned her with the tricorder. "But when I tried to find solace at some of my old haunts…" She trailed off with a groan and a light chuckle. "I guess it's true what they say; you can never go back."

"We better call an ambulance." Stormer stated turning slightly so she could see me better.

"No." Roxy countered vehemently.

"But you're hurt." Stormer argued; I sighed and pocketed the tricorder.

"It's not that serious; Rogue please get the first aid kit, it's under the sink in the main bathroom next to the old servants' quarters." I requested moving to help Stormer bring Roxy into the living room.

"She needs a doctor." Stormer snapped fearfully eyeing her former band mate.

"No doctors." Roxy growled wincing in pain; I shook my head at her stubbornness; we lowered her onto the couch and I took a closer look, definitely a knife wound in the side. However my tricorder had already healed the damage to her kidney; Rogue arrived with the first aid kid and I took it, peeling back Roxy's blood soaked shirt just enough so I could get access to her wound. "Oh; careful there handsome." She chuckled a low moan of pain escaping her lips as I gently began to clean the wound; Rogue shot her a brief glare, but knew that I was the only one who could really help the Misfit.

"Oh Roxy; why do you have to be so stubborn?" Stormer wondered with a sigh as she nervously paced behind us; Roxy let out a weak chuckle and turned her head aside hiding the tears. I chose not to say anything and quickly binded her wound; she let out a brief sigh of gratitude before she tried to get up.

"Guess I'd better hit the road." She stated only to fall back on the couch when Stormer shoved her back down.

"You aren't leaving my side again until you've fully recovered." She snapped taking Roxy by surprise with the amount of concern in her voice. "And I'm not referring to this stupid knife wound either." She glared at her friend.

"And get pity from little miss tightwad and the Holograms." Roxy countered with a sneer. "Forget it." She tried once again to get up only to find herself being pushed back yet again, only this time by me; she eyed me in stunned surprise.

"You just hold it one second Roxanne." I shot back obviously startling both Misfits with the use of her real name; something Roxy kept carefully guarded from everyone. "Going out looking for trouble is not going to make the grief disappear; if anything it will make it grow until a dark hot pit is your only constant companion." I recited though I wasn't sure if I'd heard this from someone or my impressive intellect dreamed it up.

"Al's right." Rogue agreed as she finished packing up the first aid kit and glanced at Roxy. "Yah should be with your friends; or even who yah perceive as enemies rather then alone and on the streets." She added a pain in her voice speaking of experience; I glanced to her briefly remembering that Rogue had run away after her powers first manifested because of what she'd done and that's how she wound up with the Brotherhood first.

"What do you care?" Roxy demanded angrily trying to get up only to find she couldn't move. "You're just some no name tourists; you don't even know us." She continued glaring at us; I sighed and climbed back to my feet.

"In certain respects you are correct." I concurred with a brief smirk; though there was no joy or malice behind it, it was a dead expression, an act of reflex. "But we both know the pain you're going through, we've felt it before; I don't know why Pizzazz did what she did, but I know deep down inside she'd never want to see you kill yourself over it." I continued slowly turning to leave; once I was gone the gravity well would vanish, but keeping her here against her will would serve nothing. I'd only wanted her to hear what we had to say; and keeping her pinned to the couch thanks to a slightly denser gravity well was the easiest and most logical solution my mechanized brain came up with.  
Rogue joined me; first aid kit in hand as we left all the while Roxy's eyes were following us, yet I couldn't be sure if she was angry for the forced lesson or grateful, or something else in between.

* * *

"Forget this." Roxy muttered climbing unsteadily to her feet; Stormer watched her with pain filled eyes, she'd been so scared when her friend first arrived. 

"Roxy, please don't go; I… I need a friend." She pleaded tears beginning to fall; Roxy sneered turning her back on Stormer to hide her own pain filled expression, she didn't want anyone to know.

"Seems to me you've got enough here." She retorted beginning to head for the hall and the front door.

"Maybe." Stormer relented choking back a sob. "But I feel so alone here; everyone else besides those two still work at Starlight Music and the Starlight girls are all too young to fully understand the pain, that this is causing me." She elaborated reaching out and grasping Roxy by the shoulder; Roxy stiffened she didn't want anyone to see her break down and yet Stormer's' pleas were making her face everything she'd tried to forget and hide. "Please?" Stormer whispered; Roxy couldn't ignore the pain any longer she whirled to face Stormer revealing the tears she was shedding.

"Why?" She demanded angrily. "Why did she do it? Was it my fault? The last words I ever said to her were words of spite; did she do it because of that?" Stormer was taken aback by her friend's words and she reached out pulling her into a tight embrace. Roxy wept openly now as she placed her head on Stormer's shoulder and her body wracked with her grief filled sobs.

"It's… It's not your fault." Stormer comforted her own tears stinging her eyes; she blinked to alleviate them and gently patter her friends' back. "Pizzazz… She just couldn't handle it all I guess, you know her father never really showed any love for her." She pointed out referring to the fact that Pizzazz killed her father first; Roxy choked on her tears silently screaming into Stormer's shoulder.

"Then he's to blame?" She wondered bitterly.

"No one is truly to blame." Stormer countered. "Some people just never learn to accept all of life's pratfalls; our friend was many things and I'm deeply saddened to see her take this road, but deep down inside I always knew that it could happen" She revealed a sorrowful sigh escaping her lips; Roxy nodded in accordance pulling back from her friends' embrace and eyeing her.

"We couldn't do anything to stop her." She stated dejectedly her tears now falling silently.

"No one ever can in these types of situations." Stormer agreed with a slight nod and a deep sigh.

"I suppose I owe those two an apology." Roxy muttered wiping away the last of her tears; Stormer shot her an encouraging smile and together the two of them went off in search of the house guests.

* * *

"Yah wanted excitement." Rogue pointed out as she sat beside me on the couch in the den and curled up so that she could rest her head on my shoulder; I let out a sigh and wrapped my arm around her waist gently stroking the skin beneath her shirt as I smiled. 

"Not exactly what I had in mind." I amended eliciting a light chuckle from her.

"Ah hope they can recover from this." She revealed closing her eyes and enjoying the joyful sensations I was brining her.

"If their hearts are open and friends like Jerrica and the others try to help, they'll be just fine." I returned shooting her a warm smile; right at that moment everything just felt so right I wished I could stay here forever with Rogue and not leave to finish this ridiculous training, for a destiny I had never asked for.

"Oh; so you're spoken for then, hey handsome." Roxy's voice suddenly intruded into my thoughts; I turned to regard the smirking woman and caught Stormer smiling as well.

"What do yah want?" Rogue demanded getting a little protective towards me; Roxy smiled with genuine cheer and moved to sit across from us, I could tell she'd been crying.

"Just to apologize for earlier." She admitted the playfulness of her tone vanishing suddenly.

"Oh." Rogue muttered blushing slightly in embarrassment; I smirked unseen and continued to rub her belly in affection.

"I suppose this means Starlight Mansion just got another house guest." I surmised stifling the urge to laugh aloud; Roxy nodded and glanced briefly to Stormer with a show of gratitude.

"Can't leave Stormer alone with all you Hologram junkies; she might forget who she is, and like Pizzazz said, you don't become a Misfit, you're born one." She remarked sounding a little like the old Roxy; Stormer shook her head exasperatedly and shot her band mate a grin.

"Oh joy." I playfully moaned. "The women just keep multiplying; how will I ever keep faithful to you my dear Rogue?" I wondered teasingly; she pulled away from me in mock fear and rage and dove at me, taking me by complete surprise she began to tickle my ribs incessantly. "No stop." I pleaded laughing loudly.

"Not until Ah'm sure yah won't go off with one o' these other women." She shot back mercilessly tickling me faster now; I tried to squirm out of her grasp only to wind up knocking us both onto the floor. She lay trapped beneath me now her arms pinned at her side; I looked lovingly and hungrily into her eyes and bent closer.

"My, my, my; isn't this an interesting turn of events." I remarked; she blushed openly and squirmed a little, though if she'd really wanted to escape she could have easily done so it was a little daunting when your girlfriend was physically stronger then you.

"Let mah go." She whispered eyeing the Misfits in sudden embarrassment; she didn't like an audience.

"Now where is the fun in that?" I teased pointedly ignoring the others in the room; before she could protest further our lips met and she reveled in our kiss, this time both of us looked into each others' eyes as our lips remained locked. There was a sparkle of joy and happiness in hers, but also a deeper expression of true love; and I could only hope my own pupils revealed the extent of my devotion and affection for her. Suddenly Roxy cleared her throat causing us both to pull away.

"Perhaps we should leave you two alone." Stormer observed with a mischievous grin.

"No that's ok; I think we're done for now." I returned with a slight smirk as I hastily let Rogue back up; we all shared a look, the Misfits were still hurting inside, but our little display of affection seemed to lighten their spirits slightly.

"So now what do we do to pass the time?" Stormer wondered; I couldn't think of one damn thing, my mind was drawing a complete blank, well ok that wasn't altogether true, but I hardly felt Rogue would be interested in playing out some silly fantasies right then.

"God I miss those girls." I muttered shifting in my seat and sub-consciously trying to bury my inner lustful fancies.

"I wonder if Jerrica would mind a visit." Roxy remarked eyeing Stormer mischievously. "For old times' sake."

"Do we have too?" She whined genuine distress in her eyes.

"I suppose not, but it beats staying here." She countered with a brief wave indicating the mansion; I had to agree with her on that point, it could be dull sitting around with nothing to do, and my idea of venting during long periods of inactivity was to have a sparring session.

"Ah suppose they have a point." Rogue remarked turning to me. "And it'll do yah no good to just loaf around here." She added.

"But what about us time?" I wondered worriedly not comfortable with revealing the truth about my inner thoughts; considering if she knew just how bored I was feeling at the prospect of spending hours just cuddled up together like we were she'd probably be really upset, and in all honesty it wasn't my fault. Having one hundred percent brain power sometimes caused my logic center to override my inherent romantic nature.

"Plenty of time for that back in New York." She countered running a hand through my hair and down across my chest; I shrugged and climbed to my feet.

"What the hell; I've wanted to check out Starlight Music since I got here and now's as good a time as any." I stated making my way towards the hallway pausing to glance over my shoulder. "Coming?"

"Sure just let me get a spare shirt for Roxy." Stormer requested dashing out of the room before me; Roxy smiled pleasantly and followed after her friend, but I couldn't help but notice the almost malicious glint in her eyes, something told me that no matter what happened Roxy would still be Roxy, which was a good sign really.

To Be Continued; **Tah dah! 'Nough said, R&R if you please.**


	9. Chapter 9 Rogue and Al

**Author's Notes:** I'm certain I don't have to tell you readers what's what, I trust you'll enjoy this chapter and if you'll please R&R... We're on Saturday by the end of this chapter; it's definately close to the day Amy shall arrive and spice up the story even further. And now; the new chapter...

* * *

Starlight Music sat next door to the old Misfits' Music; it wasn't that old of course, but it was already being dismantled; Roxy didn't even give the building a second look, but Stormer was saddened by the sight. Misfits' Music had been like a second home to her at times and she knew she'd miss the few fond memories she had concerning it; fond memories that none of the other Misfits' would have liked to see get out.  
Roxy led the quartet into the building sashaying slightly despite her wound; people were bustling about with their jobs and a few eyed them warily, but Al gave them each warm friendly smiles. The quartet rode the elevator up to the fourteenth floor and emerged in a stylish looking reception hall; Ba Nee and Krissie stood either side of the elevator and nearly squealed in delight when they caught sight of the young man.

"All right now the party can really start." Roxy proclaimed marching out into the room proper.

"Tone it down Roxy." Stormer hissed fearfully eyeing some of the security officers that had been requested for this, whatever it was; Al hadn't fully understood it precisely because he'd been too preoccupied with Rogue to really pay attention to Jerrica's explanation.

"Oh lighten up Storm' we're not going to play that part any more." Roxy countered spotting a few hunks near the large windows she made her way over to them Stormer in tow.

"Where'd she come from?" Aja demanded marching up to Al; who squirmed a little under the intense scrutiny.

"It's a long story." He replied with a sigh. "And Stormer kind of convinced her to stay at the mansion." He added with an apologetic smile.

"Wonderful." Aja moaned; she went after the Misfits for damage control leaving Rogue and Al relatively alone.

"This might not have been a good idea Sugah." Rogue whispered eyeing the tightly packed room in fear; Al smiled and gently entwined his arm with hers.

"Relax my lotus blossom; I am here to protect you." He returned eliciting a blush from the X-Man who wasn't used to such endearments; Al led them carefully through the room and over to where Jem was speaking to a few guests.

"Al." She greeted with a warm smile and a brief hug; she turned her eyes to Rogue and eyed her as if meeting for the first time. "And I see you brought a charming guest, which more then makes up for your other company." She added briefly eyeing Roxy; Al sighed and shot her an apologetic look.

"I see we meet again." Lindsey greeted with a winning smile reaching out for Rogues' hand. "Lindsey Pierce." She introduced.

"Oh, well Ah…" Rogue began keeping her gloveless hand firmly at Al's side.

"You'll have to forgive Rebecca; she has a slight condition when it comes to physical contact." Al apologized graciously using the name Rogue had supplied for Stark last week; Lindsey nodded understandingly and removed her proffered hand.

"I believe you've heard of Governor Schwarzenegger." Jem supplied; Al shook hands with Arnold doing his utmost to remain professional about the meeting, despite the giddy glee which sparkled within his eyes. "And his wife." Jem added indicating the lovely young woman to his left. "And of course we have the charming young actor Mister David Boreanaz, our music video director Anthony Julian, the man responsible for giving us Starlight Mansion Mister Sands and the newly discovered Avril Lavigne." She concluded the introductions; Al had a funny quirk about him as he greeted each one, to him it was rather strange meeting fictional celebrities alongside genuine ones, he half expected Mary Jane Parker to be there as well considering her professional life in the modeling world.  
"This is Mister Allan Rutherford a guest of the Starlight Mansion." She introduced.

"A guest?" David wondered curiously; it was odd seeing Angel and not hearing the characters voice the way Al was used to it on the show, but then again Boreanaz was an actor, not a vampire with a soul.

"Yes; I took a few weeks off for a much needed vacation and wound up finding the perfect place to stay with my very dear friend Jerrica." Al returned with a brief chuckle. "I suppose you could say I dropped in." He added smirking at his own private joke.

"Then I take it you support our goals." Anthony Julian surmised; Al quirked his eyebrow in slight bewilderment.

"Miss Benton worked to get these people together to establish safe houses for abused children." Jem reminded with a warm smile; Al let out a chuckle and nodded.

"Oh; of course, such a shame about these things." He returned with a show of pity; Rogue bristled slightly as Ashley approached her offering a glass of champagne.

"No thanks Sugah; Ah don't drink." She stated smiling in a show of gratitude.

"So Mister Rutherford, what do you do?" The Governor wondered accepting the glass with a brief smile and a wink at the girl; Al couldn't tell what he meant by that expression, but Ashley didn't seem to mind as she left with a smile.

"Ah; I teach." He replied hesitantly. "I'm currently employed at a school down in Westchester."

"Oh, what do you teach?" Lindsey wondered her eyes lighting up suddenly.

"Er, well it varies week to week; a lot of the classes are shared among the teachers, to give the children more enjoyment from the lessons." He mumbled; making up lies really wasn't as easy when you were on the spot, at least Al managed to keep his composure amongst the gaggle of celebrities.

"Mister Rutherford." A new voice called out before anyone else could ask the man another question.

"What an unexpected surprise." A second almost identical voice added as the two men who happened to own these voices approached the group; Al stiffened considerably as his eyes narrowed, yet again he was presented with a difficult situation due to his knowledge surrounding the varied characters of Earth Nine Twenty-Nine.

"Apparently the pleasure is all yours." Al remarked declining purposefully to shake either man's hand.

"Come now, surely you aren't still." Xamot began.

"Upset about our last meeting." Tomax finished eyeing Rogue with the briefest hint of lust; oh how Al wished he'd try something, but he wouldn't wish the memories of either twin on his beloved even if it would be highly amusing to see one of them collapse into a faint.

"I'm surprised they let a couple of **snakes** like you in here." Al shot back careful to keep his tone neutral. "Then again I suppose since you don't shed skin you can easily manage it." He added with a dark smile.

"We care as much as the next man about this particular problem that the government seems to have difficulty handling." Tomax pointed out smiling widely at the other man's play on words and double entendre.

"And of course we simply had to express our condolences for the loss of young Miss Gabor and Mr. Gabor." Xamot added; Al was a bit surprised, they'd stopped talking in tandem and their words were particularly poignant, considering he knew of their ties to Cobra. "And of course Mister Raymond as well." He added shocking Al further.

"Hold up; when did Raymond bite it?" He blurted rather rudely concerning his mixed company.

"You hadn't heard?" Lavigne asked in surprise. "His body was discovered the same morning; something about a burst heart, the details are a little fuzzy." She elaborated with a shrug.

"We heard it was a laser." Both twins countered simultaneously.

"Megatron." Al muttered before he could catch himself; the others laughed at this, though Jem appeared most wary.

"I hardly think those creatures would concern themselves with a scumbag like Raymond." Mrs. Schwarzenegger countered her voice lilting with laughter; Al's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, Jem did not share this amusement though she fake-laughed along in order to prevent anyone else from guessing at what she knew surrounding Raymond and the attempt on his life some days ago concerning the Decepticons.

"A most interesting hypothesis." Tomax remarked tilting his head with a grin.

"And most apt." Xamot added in a low whisper. "From our understanding of the situation; Mister Raymond was, involved with the Decepticons briefly, though our organization can not fathom exactly why." He continued softly; Al couldn't stomach being around either twin any further, with a polite showing of farewell to the others he proceeded to lead Rogue off to mingle with the others and visit with Video who was chatting lively with a young man Al didn't recognize as being famous.

"Ah wish yah'd tell me why yah're so uptight around those two." Rogue sighed leaning her head on his shoulder as they left.

"One of these days." Al promised with his own sigh; then putting on a big fake smile for the benefit of the unknown man he began to play nice with Video and her guest.

* * *

The source sat brooding in complete darkness; the damn fool had eluded him for five days now and he was so very tired of these constant failures. His consort slipped silently into his lap and showed her genuine concern by nuzzling his chest with her cheek.

"He can not have vanished." The source snarled pounding the armrest of his throne; his love smiled beneath her hair, which had fallen to cover her face.

"Of course not, but our assets are rapidly dwindling." She pointed out taking care not to upset him further.

"Then you are suggesting it is a good thing we can not find him." He snapped a mocking tone creeping up upon her; she glared at him in turn and left her perch.

"Continue this foolish brooding then; I shall go induct new blood for our needs." She stated haughtily turning to leave; only to be stopped by a small tendril of shadow itself, which wrapped tightly around her waist.

"Perhaps you are right." He conceded drawing her back to him. "But for the moment I think we should just let events play out; the Decepticons are drawing closer and Cobra is also becoming involved as we expected." He explained tilting his head to one side in a show of apology.

"Oh all right." She relented with a twisted loving smile. "Besides there are better things we can do with our time." She added suggestively swaying her hips.

"Can I play with her?" He asked hopefully sounding almost like a child; she shook her head exasperatedly and led him from the room.

"Very well." She allowed. "But I get to play too this time." He smiled twistedly at that; oh how he loved their little perverted games breaking this one's soul, bending it to their desires, it was enough to make his loins quiver with desire.

* * *

The event had been interesting; I'd met a few other celebrities I'd always wanted to and to top it off Roxy got the chance to speak with Jerrica concerning Stormer's invite, she just had one of the biggest hearts I knew, next to my own of course. However things didn't go perfectly; not by a long shot, besides seeing Tomax and Xamot I easily recognized the man code named Snake Eyes who was covertly observing them.  
Mostly because of Devil's Due and the fact that they didn't skimp on the details when it came to accurately portraying characters without the mask; Cobra Commander not withstanding, I just knew Snake Eyes had to have recognized me. But hopefully he hadn't figured out where I was staying, or overheard one of us mentioning it; I was supposed to get a second visit from Amy, not interrogated by GIJoe due to my inadvertent meeting with Cobra Commander. We all got back to the mansion pretty late for dinner; so Jerrica told the girls we'd be ordering pizza, then while Rio took down all the orders she led me aside into the kitchen where the others had gathered.

"How did you know the Decepticons had targeted Raymond?" Shana demanded as gently as she could; I squirmed under the intense stares shot my way and nervously began to pace, only to be stopped when Rogue gently though firmly sat me down.

"Yah certainly get into a lot of trouble because of yah're knowledge." She stated in a hushed tone sighing as she gently began to massage my shoulders; I closed my eyes grateful for her support and let out a weary sigh of my own, there was no sense pretending anymore.

"I accidentally intercepted one of their transmissions; back on Monday when I tried to take the girls to the mall." I revealed; the Holograms and Misfits were taken aback at this, apparently though Stormer and Roxy already knew about the attempt that day, pretty hard not to since they had been at Misfits' Music.

"How?" Stormer wondered asking the question for the group.

"I really haven't got a clue; one minute I'm changing radio stations, the next I'm getting slightly electrocuted and hearing Starscream reporting to Megatron." I replied with a slight grin; despite the seriousness of that particular situation a part of me still felt giddy over the entire thing. "Of course I didn't know at the time that the Autobots were faking that broadcast; I really thought I'd screwed up when I had to cover for us after Ba Nee blurted out your name Jerrica, all of the girls were really scared that you might be killed." I elaborated.

"The girls heard this too?" Rio demanded; apparently he'd come in a few minutes before the big reveal though I hadn't noticed him.

"Yes; and I take full responsibility for convincing them not to inform you about it." I returned solemnly. "I kinda didn't want to have to get into all of this Cybertronian stuff, plus I was feeling kind of like an idiot for not realizing I'd picked up on a fake transmission scam." I admitted my cheeks flushing slightly.

"It's ok." Kimber spoke up for the group startling even her sister. "I suppose we'd be secretive too if we led your kind of life." She elaborated; I shot her a grateful smile and relaxed further.

"So; how do you know so much about the Cybertronians that you'd be able to recognize their handiwork?" Aja wondered; I grimaced slightly at that, time for another lie.

"Where do you think the ones that did this to me got their technology?" I asked answering her question with one of my own as I flicked out my tendrils briefly and caressed Rogue's cheek. "We share a connection; knowledge however comes with a high price, I can't exactly share my insights into their lifestyles." I added. "I suppose I should tell you everything; so to speak, the day I wound up here, I was kind of using my mutant gifts to fly over the country… I needed a place to think and the sky was the best place for that; not a lot of clutter up there, thing of it is when I wound up over LA I kind of had no idea where I was. It looks so different from up there." I paused lowering my gaze sheepishly. "I kind of meant it literally when I said I dropped in earlier; Starscream and his jet forces were already enroute, to deal with Raymond, I'd imagine. They kind of ran into me and… Well let's just say having every system in your body shut offline and plummeting from the sky isn't a very painless experience, nor one I'd care to go through again." I finished with a smirk.

"Ah; that explains the impact crater." Shana remarked thoughtfully.

"Just how good is this healing factor of yours?" Rio wondered curiously; I shook my head.

"Not yet; I don't want to admit to that just yet, maybe later." I returned apologetically before a low moan escaped my lips. "Rogue you keep this up and I'm afraid I'm going to lose all self-control." I murmured teasingly; she chuckled lightly and bent close enough to whisper into my ear.

"Ah'm countin' on it Sugah." She said suggestively; I sat bolt upright at that and freed myself from her grip feeling suddenly conscientious about certain things.

"Yes, right, well… I just remembered something I have to see to; um in… Er, wherever it was." I hastily babbled making my way to the entranceway leading to the dining room. I dashed out of the room followed by the sound of women's laughter, but I didn't really care; any opportunity would be gladly welcomed to get out of there so I wouldn't have to lie about my origins or my knowledge any further.

"Ah didn't think he'd take it lahke that." Rogue mumbled after he'd left her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Most men have difficulties controlling themselves." Aja returned with a wink. "I should know; allow me to introduce you to my boyfriend Craig sometime." She added smiling.

"So Rebecca." Jerrica began; Rogue held up a hand to forestall anything further.

"Oh that's just an alias; please just call me Rogue, Sugah." The southern belle requested.

"Well then Rogue; what can you tell us further about this school of Xavier's and yourself?" Jerrica asked taking a seat across from the X-Man; Rogue fidgeted a little and averted her gaze.

"Yes; can your Professor Xavier truly help Nancy?" Shana asked fearful of what the response might bring.

"Nancy? School?" Roxy asked out of the corner of her mouth.

"I'll fill you in later." Stormer whispered back also intrigued by what the other woman might say.

"Well; the Professah has taught a lot of Mutants over the years." Rogue began. "He started with Jean, Scott, Hank, Bobby and Warren; they were the first mutants he found, the first he took in and they were kinda special because of it… They became the first team of X-Men." She elaborated smiling fondly at the memory of simpler times. "A lot of them learn the control the Professah was talkin' about, but some of them… Some of them have complications." She paused steeling herself; she didn't want to talk too much about herself, so she decided to start with Scott.

"Scott is one of those who can never learn control; yah see when he was a boy he hit his head, sufferin' some kind of trauma that shorted out his ability to contain the energies at his command. Scott's the mutant known as Cyclops; yah might have seen him on some of the news reports concernin' us, his power is pretty straight forward. He gathers solar power during the day and kind of stores it in his body; at least that's what the Professah believes, and he can shoot these beams out of his eyes because of it." She paused reaching out for a glass of water, which Kimber had provided and took a sip.  
"He has tah wear special glasses to keep his power contained; otherwise he could destroy everything he looks at, but it doesn't stop him from leading a rich full life, he and Jean even got married…" She trailed off here with a tiny sigh; she knew that she'd never get to have that, not with Al having to leave once his work for Roma was complete, it might have been nice, havin' a family and all.

"Oh my; if Nancy's powers are like that she could kill herself." Kimber exclaimed fearfully.

"No; Nancy has a difficult time ahead of her, but she's got a good chance of gettin' it under control." Rogue countered to assuage the woman's fears; she didn't know if it were true or not, but she wasn't about to dash their hopes, they cared about all the Starlight girls too much to let them think one of them would die so young.

"Well again thank you and the Professor for seeing to this." Jerrica stated. "We appreciate whatever help you may be able to offer." She added reaching out to grasp Rogues' hand, but Rogue snatched it away before their skin came in contact.

"Don't touch mah!" She exclaimed fearfully; the others eyed her with concern, Roxy with contempt and she sighed. "It's nothin' personal; it's just… Mah power makes it so Ah can't touch another livin' being, if Ah do Ah absorb their memories for a time. In the case of mutants Ah get their powers too, but if Ah'm not careful Ah could kill somebody… Ah almost did once… And Ah don't, can't be responsible for that again." She explained in a low whisper; the others eyed her with pity briefly before Kimber grew puzzled.

"But you and Al…" She began trailing off at the happy though sad sigh that escaped Rogue's lips.

"He's special, unique; because of how he became a mutant Ah can touch him without fear, his… Well they negate mah powers; he's the only one Ah've ever come across, that was flesh and blood at least and Ah…" Rogue lowered her gaze as she trailed off unwilling to admit this to these people she hardly knew; Kimber smiled warmly and moved over to the woman who was almost like a kindred spirit to her, she squeezed Rogue's covered shoulder in sympathetic understanding. That's when Al returned looking decidedly flushed and heavily perspiring; Rio shot him a bemused look.

"What'd you do run a marathon?" He quipped.

"Nah; I just took a quick jaunt across the Mediterranean." Al retorted good naturedly producing a gorgeous bouquet of exotic flowers from behind his back with a grand flourish. "Marvelous blooms for my delicate rose." He stated smiling lovingly at Rogue; her face lit up with joy and she gathered them up lightly kissing Al's cheek.

"Yah say and do the nicest things." She remarked happily.

"What can I say; I was brought up right… That and Disney kind of turned me into a hopeless romantic; I think." He returned with a tiny shrug and a goofy grin; Rogue laughed at his pseudo-joke and inhaled the sweet fragrance of the flowers.

"Where can I get one of him?" Roxy wondered causing the rest of the group to laugh openly and good naturedly; Rogue seemed pleased, and Al couldn't be happier.

* * *

Cobra Commander sipped his beverage as he once again regarded the information; it was his third time perusing it and he still had trouble finding a reason for Rutherford's interest in these people, still it proved to be an interesting read to say the least.

_Jerrica Benton  
__Caucasian, Age Twenty-Five, father: Emmet Benton, mother: Jacqui Benton  
__Height: five foot six inches, Hair: Blond (Natural Color), Weight: Undisclosed, Breast Size: Irrelevant.  
__Miss Benton is currently the owner and operator of Starlight Music based in Los Angeles California; she was given half of the establishment by her father upon his tragic demise. Eric Raymond; former co-owner of the building and it's assets was ousted from legal claim after proof of embezzling was discovered and now operates Misfits' Music, at one time she was believed to be Jem lead singer of the Holograms, however this was disproved when both Jerrica and Jem were witnessed to be in the same room at the same time.  
__Further information on Miss Benton's life is located in the files; do you wish to continue?_

The Commander sneered slightly beneath his mask and shook his head; the adult members of the band living at Starlight Mansion and their manager, promoter were unimportant. If there was to be a weakness exploited it would be found in the information surrounding the Starlight Girls; the pathetic young waifs who had been orphaned at young ages, or at least it was assumed as much and Rutherford indeed had a weakness if he was willing to forego secrecy and use his powers to prevent their kidnapping. Glancing over the list of names he mused over which would be the most likely target should he decide to step up his own plans for Rutherford; plans that would have to be enacted upon soon if he hoped to end the charade.

_Terri Lelan: Age eight, Caucasian (American), Birth Parents: Janice and Frederick Lelan.  
__Ba Nee: Age eight, Vietnamese, Birth Parents: Father unknown, Mother deceased and uncertain.  
__Marianne Santiago: Age ten, Cuban, Birth Parents: Unknown.  
__Joellen: Age nine, African-American, Birth Parents: Reanne and Donald last name lost.  
__Nancy Cates: Age eleven, Caucasian (American), Birth Parents: Father unknown, Mother: Doreen Cates, Deceased.  
__Anne Callahan: Age twelve, Caucasian (American), Birth Parents: Valerie and Mark Callahan.  
__Krissie: Age twelve, African-American, Birth Parents: Believed to be Jillian and Joshua Rankin, though unconfirmed due to legal issues.  
__Deidre Manning: Age thirteen, Caucasian (European), Birth Parents: Nicole and Edmund Manning.  
__Ashley Larson: Age thirteen, Caucasian (American), Birth Parents: Unknown.  
__Delaree Manning: Age fourteen, Caucasian (European), Birth Parents: Holly and Peter Manning. Side-Note; both Manning girls are related; their fathers were brothers which makes them cousins. The fact that both sets of parents passed away and that both girls were relocated by Emmet Benton before his death is one surrounded by unusual circumstance.  
__Becky Valentine: Age fourteen, Caucasian (American), Birth Parents: Grace and Kevin Valentine.  
__Lela Robins: Age fifteen, African-American, Birth Parents: Michelle and Damian Robins._

A rather interesting group of girls; all of whom had lost their parents under tragic circumstances, the Manning cousins for instance had actually lost their parents in a very unusual circumstance involving the Decepticons and several Sentinels that the mutant Magneto had brought under his power in an attempt to dissuade the alien machines from invading England. Cobra Commander still didn't understand all of the details surrounding that particular little fiasco; sighing slightly to himself he closed the information files down and switched off the computer terminal, this was getting him nowhere except now he knew more. Enough perhaps to fabricate certain lies in order to exploit Mister Rutherford should the situation call for it; still first things first, with Gabor dead all of his holdings could become useful assets to Cobra especially the off-shore oil drilling operations.

"Commander." A voice interrupted from his personal communications line.

"Yes Tele-Viper, what is it?" The Commander demanded irked that he would be interrupted at this time.

"**He** requests your presence in the throne room." The Tele-Viper reported; the Commander snarled slightly careful not to let his underling hear him.

"Oh he does, does he; well then I shan't disappoint, mustn't keep the Emperor waiting now." He muttered to himself rising from his seat; his thoughts turned to darker things, plots of assassination, and the one tool that none of his subordinates would ever believe to be in his control. "Oh yes Mister Rutherford; you will prove most useful to this organization, for if all goes well according to plan you shall have the honor of ridding us of something that should have remained dead." He stated to himself striding purposefully from the room after switching out his mask for his battle helmet; he preferred wearing it when confronting his greatest nemesis, and indeed it offered a better view of the throne room and any possible assassins his current puppet master might try to use against him.

* * *

I stretched lavishly as I sat down on the edge of the bed and prepared to regenerate for another night; it had been a relatively uneventful day and actually seemed to go by pretty quickly. I knew however that Saturday and Sunday would be much slower and I enjoyed that prospect; hopefully everything would work out for Nancy in the end. I'd just finished removing my socks; when twin arms wrapped around my waist from behind and Rogue gently lowered her head to my left shoulder.

"How long did you plan on staying here again?" I wondered playfully; turning my head so I could look her in the eyes. Or as close to her eyes as I reasonably could; she sighed contentedly her breath tickling my neck as she squeezed me gently in a show of affection.

"Forever." She returned softly eliciting a wistful smile from me; though I took care to keep it hidden from her view, Reaching down I stroked her arm lightly savoring the sensation of her smooth skin. She cooed a little and tugged me backwards so that I was lying halfway onto the bed, my legs dangling over the sides; and then she came around so that she could straddle me. She smiled shyly and lowered herself forwards so that she could grasp my shirt and carefully began to take it off.  
I chose to keep silent; not wishing to spoil the mood or her sudden bolder attitude, my heart was racing and I felt my curiosity as to her ultimate desires scream loudly within my mind. Serenity and I rarely spent so long undressing one another when we'd been in a mood; a fact I regretted slightly now as my body was charged with sexual tension from just this slow deliberate act, but a fact that could not be denied. Once she got my shirt off she slowly began to run her fingers over my chest; as she'd done before in the shower, she shot me a worried look and I gave her an encouraging smile, if she wanted to explore the sensations of intimate contact more thoroughly now that we were alone. Who was I to object? In fact to support her even further I reached up and ran my fingers down her arm, lightly grasping her wrist I guided her hand to my left breast and held it over my heart; so she could sense the palpitations.  
She smiled warmly and then guided my own hands up to her waist; she slid them along and together we raised her own shirt up above her head and off, letting it flutter to the floor. My cheeks flushed openly as I found myself lingering on her breasts; and I quickly averted my gaze when I realized how that could be construed, I did not want to press her into doing anything before she was ready, this was a delicate time for her after all, just starting out, it was as though she was still a teenager. She smiled with a slight shake of her head; though I only caught this through peripheral vision, and next she led my fingers to the clasps of her bra. It slid off effortlessly and she lowered herself onto my bare chest resting her head over my heart; I wrapped my arms around her and brushed my fingers through her hair, enjoying the silky touch and auburn tresses, broken only by the shock of pure white, which somehow furthered her sexual appeal in my eyes.  
"Ah nevah dreamed it could be this way for me." She whispered with a happy sigh; I smiled and carefully used my power to turn us so we lay properly on the bed, my legs were getting tired and tingly from leaning over the edge.

"And I never believed I'd ever feel this way about anyone; well you know, at least not this far away from home." I admitted enjoying our closeness for what it was and not what it could be; she smiled ever so slightly as she gazed up into my eyes with loving care and I offered a smile in return. Only to be cut off by a sudden and rather large yawn; she grinned at my sudden show of exhaustion and rose back to her previous straddling position.

"Ah'm sorry; Ah distracted yah from gettin' ready tah sleep." She began smiling widely as I let out another yawn.

"I don't mind." I returned with a tired grin reaching back to draw her down once more; Rogue shook my arms aside and deftly undid my belt buckle before climbing off the bed with my pants trailing after her in her hands. "Hey." I exclaimed confusedly managing to sit back up despite the weariness spreading through my body.

"Come on Sugah you need some sleep; you took a lot today." She pointed out. "We can do some more in the mornin'." She promised with a slight smile; I sighed and nodded at the truth of her words, I had wound up doing a lot today despite the fact it really didn't feel like it. Plus there were all of the revelations and such that happened today; from Rogues newfound eagerness to be with me, to Nancy's mutant gift, to the deaths of three prominent individuals I had known off-handedly. Not to mention my little verbal sparring match with the Crimson Twins; I slid under the covers and regarded her curiously.

"You going to join me?" I asked semi-seriously; she hadn't requested a room of her own, but that didn't mean she wouldn't She smiled as she tossed my pants aside and removed her own; my face felt on fire as I once again was given an almost complete view of her body, plus those tight little panties of hers made me feel certain urges that should be left nameless. She slid her socks off one by one glancing briefly to the door afraid of an interruption, but she needn't have worried; I locked it this time. Then she slid under the covers next to me and twisted a little beside me; and then her panties went sailing across the room to land in the easy chair.

"Mind if Ah ask yah somethin'?" She whispered as I settled down to sleep; forcing my body under control, I indicated she could proceed with a slight nod suddenly too tired to even speak. "Why do yah always wear yah're boxers' tah bed instead of some pajamas?"

"Personal preference." I replied with another yawn as she curled up in the crook of my arm and smiled contentedly once more.

"This alone is worth knowin' yah have tah leave one day." She admitted. "Ah've always wanted tah just sleep with a man like this." She elaborated; she looked up to see that Al couldn't have responded to such a note of affection even if he'd wanted to, the man had already fallen asleep. She shook her head in slight exasperation and drew even tighter next to him; then she quietly began to rub his chest for a few quick minutes before she let out a sigh and moved to shut the lights off, though she hadn't wanted to get back up.  
"Ah suppose Ah shouldn't be surprised." She admitted returning to her previous position being careful in the dark not to accidentally wake him up; or trip over one of their discarded articles of clothes. She stroked his hair briefly just enjoying being next to him; after a while the room was even more silent with only the sounds of the two lovers breathing as they slept, and barely cutting through the silence, the soft hum of the man's regeneration bed.

* * *

"I still don't see why we can't just attack the Decepticons and kick'em off those oil platforms Raymond reported them to be on." Sideswipe complained to his leader as the Autobots continued to plot a means to get the Decepticons off the oil platforms in question; Optimus Prime sighed, he would like nothing better then to do that, but until Jetfire returned with intel concerning any possible human hostages being kept on the platforms they could do nothing.

"We've explained that a hundred times." Prowl countered with a low sigh. "Now get it through that thick head plating of yours; we don't move until we know there aren't any humans in danger." He snapped.

"Meantime you've got us running around the globe trying to find the D-Cons home base, which is trying; 'cause you know they keep moving it." Sunstreaker pointed out with a growl; Optimus could understand the brother's frustrations, they'd been in a holding action against the Decepticons for the past eleven years or so. Neither side gaining ground; and supplies were cut off from the teams still alive on Cybertron, thanks to the destruction of Spanner and the space-bridge. The last report from Ultra Magnus had been about the construction plans concerning new shuttles for transporting themselves across the galaxies to rendezvous on Earth and help deal with Megatron. The Decepticons had an easier time about it; several supply runs by Astrotrain had resulted in new material for bases, and Megatron had managed to supply his forces on Cybertron with enough Energon to keep the skirmishes going.

"Ah go stuff it you two and keep quiet; Prahme knows what he's doin'." Ironhide shot back intruding upon Prime's inner thoughts. "Why don't yah try to be more like the Dinobots; at least they know how to deal with inactivity."

"Kicking around those Sentinels Xavier gave us isn't exactly my idea of a good fight." Sideswipe countered. "When are we going to get some action?" He demanded turning to Prime.

"Enough!" He bellowed slamming his fist into the table. "This war is taxing on all of us, but I hardly think arguing amongst ourselves concerning tactics or Autobot policy will help end it any sooner." He added.

"Not when it's been goin' on for over ten million years." Cliffjumper muttered under his breath.

"Do you have something to contribute?" Optimus demanded whirling to face the shorter red Autobot.

"Er; no Prime." He returned.

"Good; as for you two, I don't know why you're so eager to fight, but if you're that incapable of being happy with your current assignments then by all means leave." Prime stated returning his steely gaze on the two Autobot twins, though they didn't look anything alike; both of them averted their hardened gazes and shut up. "Good; now Ironhide, Prowl I want you to co-ordinate the search efforts with Jazz, it's time we brought this fight to the Decepticons and that means finding where they hang their hats, as the humans would say." He continued. "And where is Hound?" He demanded.

"Uh; about that Prahme, Hound is kind of." Ironhide began shifting slightly and rubbing the back of his neck in imitation of the human friends they knew. "Well he's kind of A-wall." He finished.

"What?" Prime exclaimed turning to face Prowl; the Autobot tactician nodded.

"He's been out in the field three days now; only comes in to refuel, I don't know who he's looking for, but it's definitely not Decepticons." Prowl returned softly; Prime lowered his head and rested his hand upon his brow, the burdens of leadership in these trying times could often manage to get through his carefully guarded exterior image and show through to the troops.

"I don't care who sees him; next time he stops in to refuel send him to my room, even if you have to drag him." The Autobot commander ordered before turning to leave, there was nothing else to be said; and he was getting so tired, he missed his home planet, he missed his love Elita-One and most importantly he desperately missed the times of peace he'd known briefly in his life. The other Autobots watched him leave; some of them worried he might buckle under the sudden pressure, but others knew that Prime would never give in, he always lived by his creed 'Freedom is the right of all sentient creatures' and if need be he would die for it.

* * *

Waking up next to Al was just as exciting and wonderful as falling asleep beside him; Rogue smiled as she stretched with a slight yawn, then she snuggled back next to him and once again simply enjoyed his nearness. His breathing was even and soft as it tickled the arm lying across his chest; she closed her eyes once again savoring the feelings stirring within her, she began to consider how the others might see this relationship and frowned slightly.

"Good morning." He suddenly murmured startling Rogue from her silent musings; she sighed happily as she shifted closer and kissed him on the lips.

"Mornin' Sugah." She returned in a jovial tone; Al reached down and stroked her hair briefly before moving to rub her shoulder. "Ah suppose we gotta get up now." She added with a sigh.

"I fail to see why we have to get up right this very minute." He returned with a gentle smile. "As far as I know no one had any big plans this morning; so I suggest we spend about an hour just enjoying each other's company and basking in the early morning silence." He added eliciting a happy smile from his lady love as she lowered her head back down and proceed to rub his chest yet again; the firm muscles that she felt under her fingers made her giddy and calm all at once.

"Ah lucked out when Roma sent yah tah our Earth." She cooed; Al would have returned the compliment, but her chest rubbing happened to be driving him to distraction and his senses just couldn't handle the pleasure overload and speak at the same time, so he simply growled softly in agreement.

* * *

Entering the kitchen later both lovers proceeded to ignore the looks shot their way from other occupants of the room and Al busied himself fixing both of them breakfast; Rogue would have protested, but he'd managed to convince her earlier when the duo was getting dressed that he wanted to do something for her by helping out this morning. Kimber eyed the man with something akin to great loss in her eyes; though she quickly resumed her discussion with Stormer, while Aja, Shana and Roxy finished cleaning the girls' breakfast dishes with only slight complaints from the former Misfit.

"They always get up this early on a Saturday?" Al wondered as Ba Nee and Marianne raced past the kitchen window laughing all the way.

"Children often do." Aja pointed out with a strange wistful sigh; Al tried to pay it no heed and finished the preparations for the morning repast handing Rogue her plate as he sat down with his own.

"This is so peaceful compared tah Xavier's." She remarked before starting in on her pancakes.

"That's because Logan isn't here arguing with Scott; plus Bobby and Remy aren't around to cause mischief." Al returned with a hearty laugh; Rogue smiled briefly at that and gave his hand a squeeze, he noticed with some inkling of pride that she never wore her gloves around him now that they'd taken the plunge.

"Al; I've been meaning to ask you something." Kimber suddenly spoke up; Al turned from gazing longingly into Rogues eyes and shot the woman a curious look.

"Shoot." He encouraged taking another bite of his meal afterwards.

"Do you know a mutant by the name of Dazzler?" She asked; this elicited an exclamation of surprise from Rogue and a clearly clueless look from the man being questioned.

"Nah; Al wouldn't know her, he's pretty new here." She replied for him. "But Ah do; she used tah hang out with Scott before she left on tour… Ah haven't seen her in years though." She added thoughtfully.

"Oh." Kimber muttered her face falling; she sighed a little and adopted a dejected expression. "She used to be one of us; a Starlight Girl I mean, but someone adopted her back when I was only ten." She explained taking the duo by surprise at her tone of voice; Al smiled sympathetically at her and gave a little shrug.

"Losing touch with childhood friends is never easy; I'm sure she's fine wherever she is." He offered just as Jem came in; Al eyed her strangely it was hard not to think of her as Jerrica when she was in that role, mainly because Al knew a lot more about her then he'd let on.

"Another day at the office." Shana moaned; the Holograms seemed to have adjusted to this new development easier then Al, but then again they'd had fifteen years to get all the kinks out.

"I'm afraid so; Jerrica wants us for another autograph session before we record the new single." Jem returned with a small sigh of her own; some days she felt like she had a case of schizophrenia, with all the lies and games she had to play to keep her life as Jem a secret.

"Maybe we should try makin' our own songs." Roxy wondered aloud addressing Stormer.

"I don't know; without Pizzazz it'd feel a little weird." She returned with a hint of melancholy as stray memories resurfaced.

"Yeah; I know, but we should at least try to go on… And as much as I hate to say this workin' at Starlight Music would be a lot better then our days with Raymond." Roxy countered putting the last plate away; she turned to face her former band mate. "I always wanted to try a different style; I guess I was just too stupid to realize me and Pizzazz were holding things back."

"I see nothing wrong in trying you guys out if you're really interested." Jem offered with a smile. "It's good to push forward after something like this happens, to find a way to honor your friend with your work." She added with a smile.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt." Stormer began thoughtfully. "I don't want to give up singing." She admitted as Rio suddenly arrived.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

"Sure I just need to get…" Jem began before something practically disastrous occurred; the holographic image of Jem shorted out completely and Jerrica was left standing before the group, Al practically choked on the bit of food he'd put into his mouth.

"Jerrica!" Stormer, Roxy, Aja, Shana, Rio and Kimber all exclaimed as one; Jerrica whirled to face her friends and the two ex-Misfits fearfully eyeing the latter as she tapped one of her earrings.

"Synergy?" She called out tentatively her voice sounding almost like a lost child's'.

"I always knew there was something funny about Jem and you." Roxy blurted; Stormer just kept silently gawking at the woman, finally putting two and two together and remembering several times she'd thought she'd caught a glimpse of something, but then dismissed it as nothing. Al glanced quickly to Rogue to see her reaction to this, but she was politely respecting the woman's privacy as she finished her breakfast; she was used to strange occurrences after all.

"Jerrica what's wrong?" Aja demanded approaching her friend and grasping her shoulder gazing with deep concern into her friends' eyes.

"I don't know." She admitted reluctantly. "Synergy isn't responding.

"We better check her out and fast." Kimber stated rising to her feet and dragging Stormer with her. "We can explain to them after."

"But how can we trust them?" Shana demanded eyeing Roxy dubiously.

"It's a little late for reservations now; they've seen her change." Rio shot back wrapping an arm around Jerrica and leading her from the room, the others were quick to follow.

"We'd better go too." Rogue whispered. "They'll want tah talk tah me to." She added with a sigh.

"Hey it's no big deal." Al stated smiling warmly. "After all you know everything there is to know about secrets." He added.

"Yeah Ah suppose… So what's a Synergy?" She asked leading Al from the room.

* * *

A lengthy series of explanations later and a few promises from the new people who knew Jerrica's particular secret, I stood before Synergy with a look of firm resolve on my face; whatever was affecting her could only be discovered by someone of my unique talents, and so here I was.

"You're sure about this?" Synergy asked the female visage on her screen eyeing me with trepidation, exhaustion and a hint of fear.

"It's the only way to find out the extent of the damages." I returned with a sigh; the image nodded accepting my logic and I gently pried back the panel covering her inner workings. "This will definitely feel strange." I warned before jacking in and interfacing with her; she let out a tiny gasp of both pain and pleasure and I felt my cheeks flare up a little at that.

"Trust a female computer to get off by something like that." Roxy muttered albeit a little too loudly for my liking; Aja shot her a glare, but I ignored it. The sensations caused by interfacing with Synergy were odd; and yet on a purely mechanical standing completely satisfying, linked to a regular AI or even base computer would merely render knowledge and in some cases binary lingo. But when Emmet Benton created Synergy he broke the mold; I'd bet not even Teletran-one could feel like this.

"Well?" Jerrica asked impatiently breaking into my thoughts.

"Be patient." I scolded sub-consciously adopting Synergy's voice; I closed my eyes to get rid of all distraction and zoomed around the core programming that was Synergy. I spotted a few black sectors, but they were gradually repairing themselves thus could not be the problem. And then I found it; a huge pit of emptiness directly located dead center of the complex systems.  
Far too complex for mere Earth technology actually; I didn't know why, but something was nagging me about it as if I should know what it was. And then without warning I felt a surge of power; I heard screams as fire speared my gut and pain flared in the back of my mind. Then I felt myself slamming into the wall and my arm snapping back hard as it jarred against the nightstand; and then nothingness…

To Be Continued**: Uh-oh, what's wrong with Synergy? Roxy and Stormer now know about Jerrica's secret, can they be trusted? What about the Decepticons and Autobots conflict, will it interfer yet again in Al's life? (Hell yeah.) And of course there's Cobra Commander's secret plans for Rutherford; I wonder what he's up to precisely? All of these questions will be adressed throughout the course of this story, but for now let us leave you with this information... And check out the following story by me; it's got a few connections to this series of tales. http/ **


	10. Chapter 10 Decepticons Return

**Author's Notes:** The clifhanger endith! That's right I'm updating twice in a week with the next exciting installment of Sea of Turmoil; I hope you'll all enjoy it, even if you don't understand some of the references to Beast Wars, which I may explain fully someday to help clarify certain issues, if need be.

* * *

"Oh my God!" Rogue exclaimed dashing over to her fallen lover; she gently pulled him away from his slumped position against the wall.

"What happened?" Jerrica wondered anguishly wringing her hands together; she wanted to cry or do something to erase this problem, but she could do nothing and it was foolish to break down over something so inconsequential. Still Synergy had never been damaged like this; she was beginning to suspect it had something to do with that stray energy blast that had scrambled her earrings.

"Looked to me like some kind of feedback." Rio observed moving to kneel beside the man and feel his pulse.

"Synergy; did he fix the problem?" Shana wondered turning to the computer.

"No, as far as I can tell." She replied showing open concern for the helpful young man; Kimber was too stunned to say anything and Roxy didn't trust herself to speak nicely. Suddenly he let out a low moan, but something about his voice seemed off; Rogue grabbed him in a hug.

"Oh Al yah had mah so worried." She exclaimed tears of joy beginning to trickle down her cheek.

"I'm afraid Allan is not here at the moment." He returned apologetically; his voice was very different and it caused everyone to gasp in fear, confusion and shock. "My name is Emmet Benton." He supplied cautiously climbing to his feet.

"What?" Rogue exclaimed taking a step back involuntarily.

"How?" Rio stammered alongside her not missing a beat.

"Impossible!" Aja and Shana cried as one.

"Dad?" Jerrica blurted recognizing the tone of the man's voice effortlessly; Kimber was speechless fearful of what might come out of her mouth, and the two former Misfits couldn't even begin to grasp this newest development. The man known as Allan Rutherford to the collected group and who now claimed to be Emmet Benton shot everyone a warm smile and strode forward. He wrapped first Kimber then Jerrica in a warm fatherly hug and glanced down at the two young women with pride.

"How you've grown." He murmured gently brushing a lock of hair from Kimbers' tearstained face.

"Stop this; now!" Jerrica demanded pulling out of Al's grip. "How dare you." She accused her voice filled with great pain as she slapped Al across the cheek. "My father is dead." She proclaimed.

"Yes I… He is." Al relented with a sad sigh glancing briefly between the two girls. "But when he… I first got sick I knew you might need my help some day with Synergy; so I copied my memory engrams into her circuits…" He trailed off with his explanation and proceeded to examine the body he now found himself in a look of awe on his features. "Of course I hadn't counted on a human machine; a technorganic entity if you will, accessing those stored files and inadvertently downloading them." He admitted with a quiet sigh.

"Where's Al?" Rogue demanded grabbing the man before her and forcing him to look at her.

"I'm afraid that for the moment he's been shunted aside by his nanoprobes; it is through them that I have indirectly assumed control of his body to perform my primary function." Emmet revealed sounding less alive at that even as he was slowly shaking his head in silent wonder before suddenly clapping his hands together sharply and reverting to a more human way of acting.  
"I can't dawdle here; no, no Synergy is in need of much work and it wouldn't do to remain in this form any longer then is necessary." He proclaimed rushing over to the computer in question and opening a hidden compartment where numerous tools were located.

"I never noticed that before." Rio blurted coming up beside the seemingly possessed man and eyeing the mysterious looking devices; Rutherford shot Rio a sly smile.

"Well it wouldn't do to let just anyone know about it; of course if I'd known that strange device I'd found and gleaned not only these tools, but the parts used to perfect Synergy, had been Cybertronian in origin I never would have installed it." He amended revealing another carefully guarded secret with nary a care in the world; he handed Rio what appeared to be an ordinary screwdriver. "Come my boy; I could use an extra pair of hands." He continued pulling back the main access panel in the process.

"This is all just so weird." Aja muttered eyeing Kimber and Jerrica in sympathy.

"Ah've seen stranger." Rogue announced watching as Al; or Emmet, or whoever he was set to work humming a merry tune, part of Al's personality conflicting with Emmets' program no doubt.

"So Rio my boy; when are you going to ask my daughter to marry you?" He suddenly asked ceasing his humming; Rio nearly dropped his tool and Jerrica lost all composure breaking down into a fit of tears.

"Maybe you should just fix Synergy and avoid talking." Shana suggested glaring daggers at the man; a part of her still couldn't accept what had happened and she believed that Al was playing some cruel game.

"I'm sorry." He apologized in a subdued tone as he switched tools and pointed out something to Rio; Rio saw that it was a simple burnt out circuit board and set about loosening the screws. "I had only intended to show you how to fix Synergy; using her screen as a sort of interface… Just a helpful program patterned after their father; being in this body is…" He paused choking back the urge he suddenly felt to cry himself and hastily recomposed himself. "Disconcerting."

"To say the least." Kimber returned quietly moving to comfort her sister in the process.

"It is good to see you all again; one more time." He admitted lowering his head a bit in slight remorse. "I never meant to leave you like that."

"I know dad." Jerrica automatically responded between her sobs; Rogue suddenly realized that the Starlight Girls were unsupervised and the Professor said he'd be back today.

"Come on yah two." She stated carefully taking Roxy and Stormer by their covered arms. "We'd better be goin' back downstairs to keep an eye on the girls." She added.

"Oh right." Stormer agreed compliantly following; Roxy held back a moment thinking she should say something, but at a loss as to what. She finally opted to say nothing and took her leave; Shana and Aja also prepared to go.

"We'd better go to Starlight Music and tell them we'll be a little late." Shana supplied before offering a gentle squeeze of support and taking her leave.

"You'll be ok?" Aja wondered with concern.

"Yeah; I just need a bit to compose myself." Jerrica returned with a sad sigh; Aja nodded in understanding and said no more taking her cue to depart.

"What did you mean by saying this had Cybertronian tech in it?" Rio wondered addressing the silent worker a few minutes later.

"When I was building Synergy I easily found ways to perfect the voice synthesis and the holographic generators." Al began speaking as always in Emmet's familiar toned voice. "But I could never perfect her AI to my satisfaction; even after I used their mother as a template to programming her." He continued switching tools deftly yet again. "But then one day; while I was out at Starlight Drive-In attempting to fix the problem an Earthquake struck. It was massive and dangerous; and yet strangely enough I was safe…" He trailed off as the simulated memory of that fateful day came back and now; with the memories of this man also floating about he knew the truth of his discovery.

"That was the day you found my stasis pod." Synergy exclaimed a strange light now present in her simulated images' eyes; she too knew everything after undergoing the interface with Rutherford and her image suddenly smiled as the mysteries of her existence were at last put to rest, and the dormant memories of a life she had once known a long time ago and yet not even having happened yet filled her core programming and life force.

"Stasis pod?" Rio wondered finishing his own task and moving back to eye Al with curiosity; the tools he was using were strange, they seemed to be energy based and specifically necessary for the portion of Synergy's circuitry that he was working on.

"Yes; an ancient piece of Cybertronian technologies, and yet also technology that neither Autobot nor Decepticon have created yet." Rutherford explained cryptically. "This man's knowledge has served to grant us both clarity on the issues… I used its parts and the very essence of the decaying life form within to perfect Synergy." He explained grinning broadly as a part of Al broke through with giddy wonder.

"His knowledge?" Kimber repeated uncertainly; Jerrica squeezed her shoulder and shook her head.

"I'm sorry daughter I can not explain further; it would mean revealing the truth behind all this man's remaining secrets and I do not have the right to do this." He stated finishing his last little work and closing the panel; he put away all the tools and re-sealed the hidden compartment.

"You're finished?" Rio asked.

"Yes; and now Synergy won't be affected by their weapons ever again." He replied dusting his hands off showily and moving to interface once more.

"Wait." Jerrica exclaimed rushing over to Al; she took him by surprise when she wrapped him in a tight hug. "Goodbye dad; thank you for everything." She whispered; Kimber moved to join her and the three stood hugging, Al with a bemused smile.

"If you do need me again; I'll always be a part of Synergy." He whispered back. "And I know I'll always be proud of the both of you." He added for the benefit of his two daughters; he glanced up at Rio then and made a show of clearing his throat as the women backed up. "Take good care of my daughter young man; and try not to take too much longer to propose." He stated with a warm smile and a quick wink before the tendrils shot out and jacked in.

"Wait a minute; what did you mean by life form's essence?" Kimber called out confusedly; Emmet smiled one last time and made to say something, but the program was transferred back to its resting place so suddenly that the trio was left with a very confused looking young man.

* * *

The world swam into focus as I blinked back the strange tears; I'd been crying, but why? Then I realized and recalled exactly what happened and I couldn't help, but smile sadly as I turned and gave Synergy a little pat; that was an experience I fervently hoped never to undergo again. And yet I would definitely cherish everything I could recall of it; turning to eye the three still with me I sighed deeply.

"It seems I am forever drawn to strange events; or at the center of them." I remarked tilting my head slightly in consternation; Jerrica eyed me in a new light and hesitantly reached out to pat my arm, turning the gesture into a strong hug before I knew it.

"We'd better be going." Rio reminded leading Jerrica from the room; Kimber hung back long enough to give me another quick hug and left me alone with Synergy seemingly putting aside her curiosity concerning the remark Emmet had made.

"So." I began now that we were alone. "The Beast Wars took place in this reality as well." I mused quirking my eyebrow up as I turned my head to eye Synergy. "And you possess a Maximals' life essence within you; interesting."

"Thank you for letting Emmet do what he did." She stated graciously generating a holographic representation of her female form as she spoke.

"You will have to tell Jerrica about it." I returned knowingly. "And I'm going to have to get a little more involved it seems." I added with a sigh.

"I've always wanted to experience the life of a true human; when Emmet first activated me I was hesitant to serve in this form, but…" Synergy trailed off and lightly reached out brushing her fingers over my cheek in a show of curiosity and wonder.

"Did you always know?" I wondered.

"I suspected on occasion; whenever Jerrica would watch a report about my ancestors' stray memories would try to fight their way to the surface, but Jacquie Benton's personality overrode their base desires." She revealed a sad smile playing across her lips. "Now I don't even know if I'm Synergy, Jacquie Benton or my old Maximal self." She added forlornly.

"Aw Syn; you're so much more." I began reaching out to the solid physical form that had now been crafted and giving her a brief hug. "And I can get Roma to create a human identity for you; build you your own holographic earrings if you'd like." I offered taking the now all too solid holographic hand and pulling it away from my cheek where it had remained; the touching wasn't something I felt comfortable with because of Rogue.

"I would appreciate that very much." She acknowledged grasping my hand firmly and shaking it; partially to seal our bargain and partially to introduce herself formally getting the feel of her new and improved holographic form, I wasn't too clear on how Emmet had done it, but I had a feeling my understanding of Star Trek holograms had allowed him to at least give this last gift to his creation for the sake of the life form he'd rescued from certain oblivion in exchange for servitude of sorts to his daughters.

"I bet the Maximal Elders never dreamed anything like this could happen to their kind." I remarked with a chuckle; Synergy laughed lightly and shook her head.

"Indeed, but I think I'm more alike Jerrica's and Kimber's mother then I am my former Maximal self; I was really close to death when Emmet found me." She admitted with a sigh and a smile; I shook my head at that, this Earth was indeed amazing and very satisfying to my inner geek at times.

"Well Syn I'd better rejoin the others." I stated turning to leave. "While you're alone you might want to try and perfect that human image." I suggested. "Human's aren't generally purple after all." She laughed once more at that as I vanished and I let out a very weary sigh; the things I wound up doing just kept getting weirder and weirder on a certain level.  
"Makes me wonder though if that means Waspinator is somewhere in this time?" I mused aloud; the thought of the Predacon somehow managing to hide all this time from heroes, villains, the governments of the world and his own ancestors made me laugh aloud, not even he was smart enough or lucky enough to pull that off.

* * *

Starscream kicked the tower of the oil platform and let out a curse; Skywarp looked up and smiled though inwardly he sighed knowing what was to come next.

"How dare Megatron assign me to guard duty." He exclaimed with a growl; crossing his arms over his chest manifold he narrowed his optics as a figure appeared on the horizon. Skywarp ignored the usual ramblings of the air commander and turned his full attention to the incoming visitor; it did not take long for the unit to be revealed as the familiar form of the Decepticon Soundwave.

"Not more Energon cubes." Skywarp muttered.

"We haven't even got enough to fill the last batch yet." Thundercracker added in disgust; Skywarp had forgotten his friend was also there having been so quiet for the past eight hours, Thundercracker wasn't always so talkative. Soundwave landed swiftly and ejected Ratbat; the Decepticon cassette chuckled aloud and flitted over to the main support structures.

"Excellent news from the human world; Mister Gabor was terminated recently and until the heir can claim his holdings many assets have been frozen for legality issues." He stated with a wide grin; the three seekers openly smiled at this and Starscream ripped open the fuel lines causing the oil within to pour out in a massive gush of release and he began to fill the nearest Energon cube uncaring about the oil stream falling into the ocean.

"At last no more hiding like antroids at a picnic; we can suck this production facility dry!" He proclaimed with a burst of laser fire into the air.

"Indeed Starscream that is why Megatron sent me back here; to step up your efficiency." Ratbat returned with a knowing grin. "And I can see he was right to do so; look at all that precious raw energy you're spilling into the waters of this planet and wasting." He added haughtily; Skywarp grinned and swiftly ceased the outgoing flow with a carefully placed laser blast, Soundwave tapped his temple suddenly and nodded interrupting Starscream's rant before it began.

"Analysis of false Autobot communications complete; human voice patterns recognized, Buzzsaw eject Operation: Termination." He ordered tapping the silver button on his shoulder; the gold and black audio cassette flew out and converted into Condor mode with a loud squawk.

"Humans helped to deceive us!" Starscream cried angrily ignoring Ratbats' earlier implications as his rage now grew for the pitiful human race; he spun to face the unit known as Viewfinder, who had been standing quietly to one side this entire time, and marched over to the shorter unit. "Reflector take your better halves and assist Buzzsaw; these humans shall pay for daring to think they can make fools of the Decepticons." He proclaimed.

"As you command." Viewfinder returned with a swift bow to hide his expression of hatred; why was it that every Decepticon considered his team beneath their station and unworthy of being called by their individual names? He took off at once trailing Buzzsaw; Spectro and Spyglass soon joining him and the quartet eventually disappeared on the horizon following a direct flight path to Los Angeles California.

* * *

The Blackbird arrived after I finished cleaning up the breakfast dishes; Hank and the Professor were back only this time they'd brought Jean and Scott along. I wondered what exactly that entailed, but quickly put aside any misgivings and greeted them all with a warm smile.

"Are Jerrica and the others around?" The Professor asked courteously.

"Sorry Professor; they had an autograph session, it's just Rogue, the girls and me here right now… Oh yeah and Stormer and Roxy." I replied mentally punching my arm for forgetting the Misfits.

"We should wait for them to return then before discussing young Nancy." He stated maneuvering around the kitchen table as Deidre and Ba Nee came bounding inside; Deidre froze when she caught sight of the X-Men, but Ba Nee kept her cool and got the glass of water she'd come in for.

"Good morning." Hank greeted; Deidre stammered some form of reply and hastily exited, her cheeks looked flushed and I chuckled as I realized that she'd been scoping out Jean.

"Poor girl; I'm afraid you do take some getting used to Hank." I observed with a grin not wanting the X-Men to know what really had bothered her so much; he chuckled in return and took a seat at the kitchen table.

"How is dear Rogue faring?" He wondered remembering how much she'd been going through lately; I found myself smiling in contented bliss and offered a shrug in response.

"What have you two been up to?" Jean pried shooting me a knowing smile; though I couldn't be certain if it was due to our budding relationship or the emotions she probably picked up from Deidre. I squirmed a little and hastily shook my head to clear it before speaking; no sense in sending off the wrong signals.

"Nothing." I mumbled. "She and I have merely finally figured things out between us is all."

"I need not remind you of the limited time span you will probably remain here." The Professor spoke up a small frown pursing his lips; I slumped slightly at his words, _way to kill the mood Charles_. "I don't want to see her hurt." He stated showing deep concern for his pupil's well being; I smiled sadly at that.

"We are both well aware of the consequences Professor; it pains me to think what will happen when I have to leave…" I paused as my voice cracked and I quickly struggled to compose myself. "But we've made our decision and I for one wouldn't have it any other way." I concluded with strong conviction in my tone. "There's just something about Rogue; it feels… I don't know, right somehow; not like with Serenity, that was merely physical and we both knew it."

"I understand and respect that Allan; I just want to make sure you both realize that it can not last." The Professor returned with a slight sigh; I would have said something then, but Roxy showed up.

"I'm going to need the keys to the Starlight Express." She stated not batting an eyelid once at seeing Hank or the others with me.

"Why?" I wondered confusedly.

"I'm taking the girls into town to see a movie; it's boring just hanging around here watching them play softball and all that." She replied as if that was enough; I couldn't find any harm in it so I tossed her the keys, which had become a constant companion in my pocket of late.

"You better be careful and take damn good care of those girls Roxanne." I warned using her real name yet again; she glowered at that, but didn't lash out as she might have done before Pizzazz's death.

"Whatever you say handsome." She teased shooting me a wink. "But you couldn't hurt little ol' me." She added coyly.

"True, but we both know what Jerrica would do." I returned with a smirk; I was getting used to all the flirtatious actions of the Starlight Women, it had progressed into playful banter as Megan and Jenny Delaney often had done aboard Voyager. In a sense I'd been adopted yet again; this time as the younger obnoxious brother of Jerrica and Kimber Benton, Roxy sighed at my little reminder of who was really in charge around here and took off leaving me once again alone with the X-Men. "I wonder if Rogue was going with them." I mused aloud.

"If Nancy's with them she might have, to keep an eye on her." Scott surmised; I shrugged in dismissal and turned back to face the Professor.

"Well I suggest we retire to the living room; I have a feeling I should know everything you discovered before the Holograms get back." I stated leading the way out of the kitchen.

"An astute observation Mister Rutherford." The Professor returned solemnly.

* * *

"So many humans; how are we ever going to locate just one?" Spectro moaned from the compact form of the Reflector camera; Buzzsaw squawked something in his own language and swooped past the traffic on Hollywood and Vine, relatively unnoticed in this city due to all the strangeness they were accustomed to thanks to film crews and the like.

"Just keep your vocals off and your audios on." Spyglass grumbled as he triggered the camera form to take another picture; Spectro fumed silently and did as he'd been told, some days he really hated the transform that idiotic Autobot computer had selected for the trio.

* * *

Allan sat back with a forlorn expression on his face; looking to the Professor he made to say something, anything, but he could not find the words. If what the man had just told him was true; then it could be a very long time indeed before Nancy could again live under the roof of Starlight Mansion, if ever again.

* * *

"Hurry up Becky." Ba Nee called careful not to spill any of her popcorn; twin ruby red optics flashed from outside near the Cinema entrance.

"That was it." Viewfinder proclaimed as Reflector snapped a quick photo.

"So now what?" Spectro wondered. "She doesn't strike me as the type who could mimic Soundwave." He pointed out.

"We wait until she leads us to the one." Spyglass returned with a smug tone as if it should be obvious to everyone.

* * *

Jerrica and the Holograms returned two hours after the Professor first arrived; as soon as I saw them my face fell and they instinctively knew I, we, did not have good news.

"What is it?" She asked not bothering with formalities.

"Our studies of Nancy have proven most disheartening; she is Hydrokinetic as Mister Rutherford hypothesized." Hank explained not wishing to prolong the pain or the heartache this information would most likely result in. "Which is the power to control water; bend it to her will, similar in vein to a young man known as Robert Drake who is gifted with the power to control ice…" He paused in sudden trepidation; I climbed to my feet and quickly moved to comfort Jerrica by squeezing her shoulder.

"If she doesn't learn how to control this gift I'm afraid she's going to lose all cohesion; there's a dangerous instability in her genetic makeup that's slowly forcing all of the water in her body out of it… The human body can't survive without water…" I trailed off as I caught the pain and horror flashing through each of the Holograms' eyes; Shana buried her face in her hands as she began to cry falling into a chair near the window. Aja patted her shoulder and knelt beside her offering what comfort she could; Kimber tumbled back onto the couch, and Jerrica collapsed into my arms, which proved both awkward and a surprise.  
She wept openly and I patted her shoulders to help comfort her; I knew she needed this chance to grieve before Nancy came so that she wouldn't upset the girl any further, and after all I was probably the only one besides Rio she'd ever trust to do this after what happened with Synergy upstairs… Well maybe Riot too, but I wasn't too clear on what had happened to the Stingers and my knowledge of them was incomplete; it'd been a long time since I'd seen the cartoon and just because the Nanoprobes had made all memories open to me now didn't mean there weren't still bits and pieces missing.

"The girls have returned from the movie." The Professor alerted. "We should discuss this with her and bring Nancy to the institute as soon as possible." He added.

"Commence with her training she must." I found myself saying out of reflex; fortunately most everybody understood my quirks by now.

"She's not going to like this." Kimber moaned climbing to her feet.

"True, but it is for her own safety we have better equipment to monitor this situation at the Mansion." Hank returned in a subdued tone; this was the part about discovering new mutant children that he always hated. We all made our way outside to where the Starlight Girls were gathering all of them talking at once about the movie. Roxy and Stormer were trying hard not to get mad at the usual girl chatter; considering they still weren't used to it, although Stormer was more understanding towards it.  
Jerrica called out to get everyone's attention, but was drowned out by the constant chatter about how cool this one scene was or how hot the actor was; Aja was about to call out next only to be stopped when I placed a hand on her shoulder with a slight smile I effortlessly switched vocal patterns.

"Cease and desist your infernal chatter you fleshling fools!" I cried out in the familiar tone of Megatron leader of the Decepticons; I hadn't wished to be so harsh or use that voice, but this was important after all and his commanding tone of voice always seemed to grab even the least likeliest's attention.

"You didn't have to do that." Ashley chastised now that the girls had quieted down.

"Sorry." I returned with a sheepish grin. "I'm kind of used to using my voice to get people to listen." I elaborated; something nagging me about my earlier use of the Decepticon's vocals, I could have sworn I'd heard something that sounded like a familiar bird squawking at my outburst.

"Yes well…" Jerrica began only to be cut off by a rather loud and familiar screeching sound; Spotting Buzzsaw first and berating myself for not recognizing him earlier I leapt instantly into action, and directly into the path of his laser fire, which had been aimed at Ba Nee. The pain across my shoulder blades was intense; being hit by genuine Decepticon laser fire couldn't compare to the holodeck or danger room levels that's for sure, and not something I'd care to experience again any time soon. The sound of transforming drowned out the screams of the girls, and the ground shook under the impact of three metal bodies touching down.

"Megatron has ordered an example be made of you, Earth germ." Three identical toned voices called out as one; climbing from the protective crouch I'd used, I spun to face the tri-group of Reflector, in the metallic flesh.

"Well there's a big surprise." I spoke up mockingly giving the girls time to find suitable cover. "And all this time I thought Megatron could care less about little old me." I added as though he and I had personally met before; partially because of the cover story I'd used surrounding the origins of my gifts, which had in part inferred that somehow they had been involved.

"Rutherford; do not antagonize anyone bigger then you, especially someone that's thirty feet tall!" Scott cried in a chastising tone.

"Oh come off it Cyc." I shot back. "Besides; these three are in for a… Shocking experience." I added with an amused smirk; twin bolts of electricity slammed into Spyglass sending him colliding with several trees; unfortunately he recovered almost instantly, much to my chagrin.

"Our turn." They stated smiling darkly; three blasts of concentrated laser energy collided with me burning off my nice new shirt and cutting into my skin painfully, I grimaced at the pain as several of the girls screamed upon seeing the rather gruesome injury.

"Ok guys; like now would be a good time to back me up here." I quipped using Shaggy's voice from Scooby-Doo out of some strange reflex; Cyclops whipped off his glasses, turned to face Viewfinder and opened his eyes letting loose. The optic blast tore into his metal armor and pushed him clear into the garage bringing it crashing down; it also had the unforeseen side-effect of eliciting numerous ooohs and ahs from the girls.

"Excellent strategy dear." Jean teased using her impressive telekinetic ability to forcibly drag Spectro's gun out of his hand. She and Scott both fired as one; laser and optic energies collided with the Decepticons' chest manifold, tore through him effortlessly, and succeeded in extinguishing his spark. Spectro toppled to the ground dead; Spyglass screamed in anger and charged us, ripping up massive clumps of sod as he ran, I'd hate to see the landscaping bill when this was over. Surprisingly the Blackbird came to life and fired on him; Hank having rushed aboard without my knowledge most likely, he let out a cry of annoyance and swatted at the Earthling vehicle forgetting about the dangerous duo in front of him.  
Scott and Jean double teamed him as well killing him in the same manner as his fallen brethren; Viewfinder looked particularly enraged as he struggled back to his feet.

"You will pay for this." He proclaimed leaping into the air to escape; Scott prepared to hit him too, but I held up a hand for I was properly prepared now.

"He is mine." I growled; reaching out with both hands I closed my eyes and stood rigidly still as I summoned a gravitational field of powerful force and projected it upon the retreating Decepticon. He struggled futilely as his armor began to buckle; I was pouring all of my power and energy into averting disaster, and buckled falling to one knee under the strain, but I could not let anyone report back to Megatron the truth of this encounter he might send other more powerful warriors.

"No!" Viewfinder cried out. "No! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" He screamed his voice raising in pitch and desperation as he felt the pressure intensify; until even his advanced Cybertronian alloys could no longer survive, he imploded his spark dieing instantly. Buzzsaw let out a squawk of fear and tried to escape, only to be blindsided by Rogue; the Condor crashed in stasis nearby and I nodded to show my approval of her assistance. Rising shakily to my feet and ignoring my utter exhaustion I connected with the Decepticons circuits via assimilation tendril and rewrote his memory banks, generating such dense gravity wells wasn't something I was used to; and I decided I'd avoid doing that again unless in extreme emergency.

"What did you do?" Jean asked coming up beside me and laying a hand on my shoulder to offer some assistance.

"If nobody reports back Megatron will send others, but if he reports the truth of the matter it could endanger everyone here; so I rewrote his memory banks. To the Decepticons it will appear that Reflector died killing me in a rather theatrical though no less climactic battle; least I could do considering how easy it was to actually kill that weak armored idiot." I replied slumping to the ground in total exhaustion; my eyes fell on Spyglass's nearby gun and I dragged myself over to it, popping the energy storage location, though how I knew that was what it was I couldn't exactly say. I was rewarded with a few small Energon cubes; and hungrily eyed them slowly reaching out for one as systems began to shut down due to lack of energy.

"Al, Sugah; yah can't." Rogue tried to stop me, but I was too desperate to consider the consequences if any; picking it up one handed I tipped it over my mouth and opened wide allowing the odd liquid energy mixture to pour down my throat, much as the cartoon had depicted the Decepticons doing in that one particular episode. My body screamed with pure energy and I found myself rising into the air of its' own accord; I cried out as the raw power surged through me, wounds healed instantly, my exhaustion faded and a dark purple energy glow surrounded me slightly creating an odd aura.

"The power, The POWER!" I cried to the heavens unleashing a blast of electricity into the air and cackling like a lunatic, or perhaps a Decepticon. "No wonder you Decepticons crave this stuff; archaic energon guzzlers, you have no idea what potential lies within these wonderful little baubles." I stated with a sneer eyeing the dead trio's remains and kicking Spyglass's closest appendage.

"Al." Krissie spoke up fearfully; the first of the Starlighters to voice an opinion since the battle had begun, my cold expression lost its edge and the purple aura vanished as I fought with myself to regain control, I backed away in fear from the other Energon cubes and trembled slightly.

"God; what have I done." I breathed out sharply glancing down at my hands as if they belonged to someone else. "Never again; this is something that is far too dangerous, and should I be tempted again I fear for my sanity." I added and for good measure I blasted the cubes; since they were so small their explosion was localized, it destroyed a good portion of the yard surrounding Spyglass's gun and the gun itself, but that was it.  
I turned then to face my collected friends with a sorrowful look; no matter what had happened before in the past, outright Decepticon attacks surely would not be accepted. "I guess this means I'm going to have to leave now." I said with a sigh; Jerrica surprised us all by stepping up to me and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Over a little thing like this?" She asked eyeing the Decepticons as if they were a subdued crazed fan. "I don't think so." She added with a warm smile. "Besides I seem to recall a certain female visitor saying your daughter couldn't visit unless you stayed here; and who am I to keep a daughter from her father?" She asked in a hushed tone so that only I could hear; I shook my head and smiled despite myself.

"You are taking too many risks with me Jerrica; one of these days I fear it will catch up with us both." I returned in my own whisper.

"Are you kidding; we haven't had this much excitement since Johnny Storm dated Kimber that one weekend for a charity event." She returned with a wink; with a small sigh I surveyed the damaged landscape, the Starlight Girls, the X-Men and lastly the Professor. He too shook his head and offered an apologetic smile before rolling quietly back inside; this was turning into a surreal dream, no matter how bad things got around here it couldn't shake the friendship and kindness shared by all who lived under this roof, and their level of understanding was almost unbelievable.

"Q; if you have anything to do with this, or if you know who does, who must obviously be influencing these people, then pass on my thanks Old Friend." I whispered more to myself then the omnipotent alien; since I doubted he was watching me twenty-four seven.

* * *

Earth Prime's God smiled and she offered a tiny nod to her chosen; though he was currently doing a favor for Roma it was no reason for her to stop observing him, and occasionally giving him a little more charisma and perhaps assistance when it came to his friendships.

"You are most welcome my child." She said aloud only Hades being able to hear her, for her counterpart was as ever close by also observing these events.

* * *

"I don't get why we're letting him stay here still." Aja muttered as she helped settle the girls down after that harrowing escape from certain death.

"Oh come off it Aja; you can't seriously think that was his fault." Kimber shot back defensively.

"He's dangerous; I don't care what Jerrica says I don't like all these happenings since he came here, it's like… Well it's like he brought it with him." She returned expressing her concerns; Kimber sighed and shook her head.

"So I suppose the Misfits going under is his fault too then?" She asked. "Or the attempted kidnapping?" She added angrily. "If he hadn't been here the girls would be God knows where and having God knows what done to them, would you want to have that on your conscience if some of them turned out to be violated… And what about Nancy; we would never have known until it was too late and she was probably dying." She stated in a snappish tone; Aja sighed and shook her head.

"I know; I'm sorry, it's just… Well to be honest there's something about him that sets me off; he's not telling us the truth and I damn well know, he damn well knows it and yet he can't stop lying about stuff." She pointed out; Kimber nodded accepting Aja's words as fact.

"He'll tell us the truth one of these days; there's a deep pain in his eyes sometimes and it's not because of what was done to him, or the lies." Kimber pointed out. "And I know he'll open up to us before he leaves; I just feel it, you know?" She wondered; Aja nodded with a slight smile.

"That's not all you're feeling." She teased; Kimber frowned slightly at that. "Oh sorry Kimber; I didn't mean it like that." She apologized; Kimber shook her head.

"No it's ok; I let him go because I love him, and she loves him too so there's nothing wrong with that, I knew he wasn't meant for me anyway, the way they act together it's like they're soul mates." She remarked in a soft tone; Aja shook her head and moved to give Kimber a big hug.

"Oh Kimber; you're just such a big romantic." She said; Kimber laughed and the two went back to what they'd been doing, which was mostly just making sure none of the girls were too upset about coming close to death. Though Allan didn't know it the Holograms knew what it was like to come close to death; they'd once been called by Roma after all, though it had been a mistake at the time… And once he trusted them enough to tell them the whole truth; then they'd share that particular adventure with him, simply because they already trusted him enough, after all he was the kind of person that had a genuinely decent soul… Which meant that no matter what; the friends he'd made would stay his friends, even if he fell to the dark side and embraced evil, they'd try to help him come back and that's all that anyone could ask really.  
Although it was just a little odd to Kimber and Aja the extent of their trust in him; especially since they'd known him for only so long, but they didn't know the whole story and they certainly didn't know that God's little gift which allowed him to turn into Justice made it so that he would forever attract friends of the opposite sex more readily then those of his own, at least until he fulfilled his destiny and the gift was taken away from him. Call it a quirk of God's; a bit of cosmic humor on her part, she sometimes enjoyed playing with the emotions of her children though she didn't do it out of spite or malice, simply because after all being a divine creator tended to lead one to boredom after the first couple of eons.

* * *

After everyone had been settled and Buzzsaw dumped off in a deserted area so that his new memories wouldn't be contradicted; I took a seat in the empty den and let out a sigh, this had been a trying day and I had never thought it could get this bad.

"_Stupid Decepticons, stupid me for that matter; I should have known they would analyze the false communications, or at least Soundwave would he's very meticulous. And yet I was being given so much understanding and leeway from these people; just what could have happened to them to warrant these feelings, where they contacted by Roma or something?_" I thought to myself as I attempted to understand fully their attitude towards me. Nancy hadn't taken the news too good, but after calming down she'd agreed that it was for the best; the Blackbird could be heard leaving at this very moment, the familiar sounds of her engines roaring in the distance. And with it; the hopes and fears of a young girl, I wished desperately that Nancy would learn to control her powers and swiftly for I did not wish to see a child die because of her gifts.  
So much tended to happen in less then one weeks time, even without the super hero community in the forefront of events; the perils and pratfalls one faced everyday on an Earth of Marvel origins I supposed. Decepticons, kidnappers, suicide, almost friendly Misfits, Storm Shadow, the Crimson Twins not to mention nearly blowing my chances with Rogue and getting to know the Starlight Girls and growing so fond of them because of my aching despair over not being with my little one… And to top it all off Snake Eyes could have recognized me; if he'd ever gotten a good enough look at me, yes quite a lot could happen. I wouldn't be surprised if even more crazy stuff happened, but personally I'd prefer it to settle down somewhat for my visit with Amy.  
"This has been decidedly more trying and complex then temporal field mechanics; and I loathe temporal field mechanics." I grumbled to myself slumping even further into my seat and sighing yet again; I seemed to do that a lot more on this Earth then I had ever done when fighting with Xena or learning the ropes aboard Voyager.

"Al." A voice called out from the doorway tentatively; I looked up to find a stunning raven haired beauty, wearing an elegant ensemble reminiscent of a casual style business suit, without the tie or plain white top. Her eyes were crystal blue sparkling with emerald flecks; I'd never seen anyone like her before, and yet something about her face seemed familiar. When I caught sight of the Jemstar earrings hidden behind her long flowing locks I nearly fell out of my chair.

"Syn?" I blurted watching in surprise as her holographic form mimicked a true human response, her cheeks flushed and she offered a shy smile.

"You approve." She whispered slipping into the room; the dark purples and blues that comprised her outfit, stood out even more in the brighter lights. "This is as close to my former existence as I could get; I wanted to share, at least partially. What I looked like as a Maximal." She admitted in a gentle tone; walking slowly and gracefully across the carpeted floor in gold flecked purple high heels. I eyed her in respectful appraisal and shot her a friendly smile, we were closer then anyone else I'd ever met in my travels, except perhaps Amy and Rogue thanks to our sharing of minds when I'd fixed her this morning.

"People are going to wonder where you shop, with jealousy I might add." I teased considering no one I'd seen styled clothes like this; at least nothing came close to it in those stores I'd visited with the girls, both here and in New York.

"Let them." She returned with a broad smile; taking a cautious seat in the chair next to mine she eyed me seriously. "I know what happened; and I know what Jerrica said to you, in a way she's right, you aren't to blame for this." She stated grasping my shoulder in a show of understanding; I patted it graciously, Synergy did have a lot more knowledge about me then anyone else and so I trusted her counsel perhaps more then I would have Jerrica's, though it pained me to admit that even to myself… In a way I supposed Syn was truly my sister; even her holographic form bore some small similarities to me, as though she wanted to create an image that could be construed as a fraternal twin to myself, though I was simply guessing at that.

"Al, who's this?" Jerrica suddenly asked as she, Aja, Shana, Kimber and Rogue all joined us; Rogue was eyeing me with a hint of doubt, but she probably wasn't jumping to conclusions because she knew how much I cared for her.

"Oh boy." Syn whispered sounding a little like Sam Becket from Quantum Leap; it brought an involuntary smile to my lips, for she had sub-consciously mimicked something I might have done in a similar situation.

"This is going to take some explaining." I began with an inaudible moan. "But suffice it to say, this is Synergy." I stated; a collective gasp filled the room and all eyes now turned on the hologram studying her closely.

"He's right." Jerrica finally proclaimed regarding her band mates in shock.

"But, how?" Aja wondered; with a deep sigh Synergy climbed to her feet and indicated that the others should sit, they obliged, Rogue climbing into my lap and I eyed my newfound sibling with an encouraging smile. _Now why do I keep referring to her as that; we're not even blood related._

"This story begins just a little over four million years before Christ; two ships of Cybertronian origins came to this Earth using a means of time travel, they were from the distant future. And the occupants of both ships would come to fight what Cybertrons history now records as, the Beast Wars…" She began, oh yes this would indeed take a lot of explaining.

* * *

Unobserved by the occupants of the house someone stood outside listening to the woman as she described in great detail events she should not have any knowledge of; the observer was a rather disgusting looking homeless man, so emancipated and aged in appearance that no one ever thought to give him a second look, but beneath the decrepit exterior there was a shrewdness within those charcoal colored eyes.  
He listened with rapt attention and he smiled fondly as memories came to him; the reason he'd been so close to the Starlight Mansion this evening had been his own advanced knowledge, he'd wanted to see the destruction of Reflector and so had come bearing witness to something that had always fascinated him during his school years.

"A shame I can't take her with me, but there's no telling if that Techrat person can even make the device work, no sense in filling her up with false hopes." He murmured to himself an imperceptible buzzing sound a part of his voice; he smiled widely and turned to leave. "She's in good hands anyway; the chosen of Primus doesn't let anybody hurt his friends or family, I should know Megatron and Spider-Bot always did have problems with him before we left with the Golden Disk." He stated to himself; for he knew the future, beneath the harmless looking shell of a man there hid a robot, a Predacon who'd been stranded on Earth for a very long time and who just wanted to go home.  
"Techrat's little device better work properly with that trans warp cell I gave him; I miss Cybertron." He grumbled walking down the driveway. "And I hate having to walk everywhere; Waspinator wants to use his wings." He added inadvertently slipping into his true mannerisms of speech due to his frustration; and so this seemingly insignificant being vanished perhaps never to be seen again, though unknowingly he was fated to cross paths with young Allan Rutherford at a later date, though of course that little event is for a later time…

* * *

"And so thanks to Al here; Emmet was able to alter my personal holographic form, so I can experience humanity." Synergy finished; the Holograms had been rapt with attention fascinated by this bit of history that remained unknown to the general populace, now they stretched a little muscles having fallen asleep or grown lethargic due to the lengthy amount of time sat listening to Syn. Jerrica approached her longtime companion and embraced her for the first time; a fond smile spreading across her lips as at last she could thank the holographic generating computer properly.

"I won't pretend to understand what you said entirely, but I can promise you I won't treat you any differently Synergy." She stated in a low tone, a few tears of joy slowly crawling down her cheeks.

"Yeah; you've been a part of us since we first met." Shana added coming up to join the two and adding herself to the hug.

"And no matter how you change; we'll always love you as a friend, human made or life form from another planet." Aja contributed joining the trio herself.

"You've always seemed to have a heart to me; and to the rest of us, a mind too." Kimber added moving to join the others. "You were never just a computer to us and you never will be." She finished for the group, Al smirked slightly behind his hand at that; part of him feeling it was perhaps a tad too corny to be said aloud, but part of him realizing that sometimes corniness was a way of life.

"Thank you, all of you." Syn whispered in a low tone a few simulated tears of her own trickling down her cheeks; Rogue turned to eye Al and caught the slight giddy smile now crossing over his features again.

"More then yah bargained for?" She observed, he seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in and offer a sheepish look.

"Huh, what? Oh no, I was just thinking about Waspinator again." He admitted with a chuckle; she eyed him curiously, but he shook any questions she may have had with a little aside of his head and made a shush motion with one finger to his lips.

"Oh, the girls must be starving; we're late to prepare dinner." Jerrica suddenly realized glancing up in embarrassed shock.

"Relax; Stormer and I already took care of it." Roxy stated from the entrance; Al climbed to his feet with Rogue at his side and stretched to alleviate his own kinks.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but fighting Decepticons really builds up an appetite." He spoke up; the Holograms eyed him curiously before Kimber shot him a small smile.

"I doubt the feeling can be mutual, but I am famished, let's get some dinner." She stated leading the way out of the den; the rest of the group followed her, but Synergy excused herself and returned the Jemstar earrings to Jerrica vanishing instantly, she wasn't ready to meet the girls just yet.

* * *

The Blackbird landed in it's usual hangar where Logan, Ororo and Kitty were waiting; it settled fairly quickly and the boarding ramp lowered, what came out wasn't what was expected. The hovering legs, torso and eventually head of one of the Decepticons; how it had fit inside the limited space one couldn't say, but it had as had the second corpse following after it. Logan raised an eyebrow in surprise at this unexpected development; Jean and Scott followed the bodies Jean looking strained with the amount of matter she had to move, Cybertronian alloys were denser then Earth ones.

"Pick up a souvenir." He quipped with a smile; Scott ignored the older man's joking manner and eyed the Decepticons with a frown.

"I don't see why we had to bring these here." He muttered.

"We couldn't leave them at Starlight Mansion." Jean countered as the Professor joined his pupils on the ground; Ororo examined the Decepticons while Hank came down with a smile.

"I must admit, the opportunity to study Cybertronian technologies this has presented is most welcome." He stated jubilantly; Logan shook his head and eyed the duo with a practiced eye.

"Kilowatt attracted some unwanted attention." He observed with a snort. "This what you wanted me to take care of?" He asked turning to Xavier.

"If it's not too much to ask; you and Fury have an understanding of sorts." Xavier returned with a small sigh.

"I just hope the rest of these creatures are fooled by that fake report Al implanted into… Was it Buzzsaw he called it?" Jean revealed with a frown; Logan snapped his head to the side at that and eyed Jean absorbing this new information.

"They would have little reason to doubt it." Xavier pointed out. "Al does have more knowledge concerning these creatures as opposed to us." He reminded.

"Yeah well he'd better, next time we won't be around to help out." Scott growled showing his displeasure at the rash actions of the unofficial team member.

"Will Jerrica and my friends be ok?" A timid young girl asked from the top of the ramp; Scott immediately frowned and averted his eyes in embarrassment at frightening the child.

"Of course, your friends will be just fine." Xavier replied gently, assuaging the child's fears. "Now; if you'll please follow Ms. Munroe and Kitty over there, they will help you get settled." He added with a warm smile; the girl nodded in a subdued manner, picked up her suitcase and followed the older woman and the teen indicated.

* * *

"So, Reflector is dead then." Megatron stated impatiently tapping the arm of his throne; Starscream stood smugly next to Soundwave, who nodded in confirmation. "And who gave either of you permission to target this human!" He demanded slamming his fist into the armrest and denting it.

"But, he helped make a fool of us with the Autobots!" Starscream protested in typical fashion moving as he spoke out of range of any possible wrath Megatron might unleash, save perhaps the fusion cannon ever mounted on his right arm.

"And his knowledge of our kind should have been investigated." Soundwave elaborated defending his own actions; Megatron sighed and waved his hand in a show of annoyed disgust.

"And you did a wonderful job of that; if he had any useful information it is lost to us now, as is a valued member of our forces." Megatron retorted no longer angered at the events of the past, he couldn't very well change them now.

"Should we retrieve the bodies?" Starscream wondered taking this as a sign that he was safe from deactivation.

"No, we can not risk further exposure lest the Autobots discover our true motives." Megatron countered in a biting tone. "Or our Energon mining operation." He added pointedly glaring at Starscream.

"Understood Megatron." Soundwave stated bowing his head and turning to leave; Starscream however did not take the hint.

"So who are you assigning to replace them?" He asked; Megatron growled and shot the air commander a glare.

"No one." He snapped sneering in pleasant enjoyment of the expression flashing over Starscream's face.

"But, Mighty Megatron." Starscream attempted to protest.

"Silence Starscream!" Megatron bellowed rising to his feet his cannon whining with untapped power. "I can spare no one to aid in your task; you shall simply have to double your own work load, now won't you." He added with a sneer of contempt.

"As you wish oh Mighty Megatron." Starscream grumbled not even bothering to try a different flowery term of insult upon his leader; turning he took his leave, Megatron chuckled to himself and resumed his seat to continue his plotting and scheming in silence, though he was not truly alone.

"You think he'll prove difficult?" His silent ally asked; Megatron shook his head and regarded the shadowy form briefly.

"Nonsense Shockwave; now then how goes recreation of the space bridge?" The leader inquired; Shockwave's lone optic flashed and he began to report his efforts to rebuild the unique device capable of bridging the distance between Earth and Cybertron without the need to rely on units such as Astrotrain who were limited in their abilities of space travel.

To Be Continued; **Uh Oh! What on Earth could those Decepticons be up too? And why do they keep butting into Al's story? Well that's what we writers like to call setting things up for future events still left to unfold; Al and the X-Men certainl had an easy time of taking down Reflector though didn't they? Rest assured their next encounter won't be so simplistic, however that is for another day... Up next we rapidly draw closer to Sunday night, and Amy's triumphant return... Al's going to just love her to pieces and cuddle her and play with her and... Of course introduce her to everyone at Starlight Mansion.  
What about Cobra though? and what if GIJoe trys to find Al to arrest him for questioning since he was seen fraternizing with the Commander? Well all that is coming up over the period of the next several days of Al's vacation at Starlight Mansion... And hopefully Nancy will be able to learn how to control her mutant powers too; anyway I've said enough, hopefully you'll enjoy everything that is to come... Oh yes and don't worry there's still a bit more Rogue/Al fluff before she has to retunr to the mansion to be there for Nancy.**


	11. Chapter 11 Amy Returns XMan Nancy?

**Author's Notes:** At last the long awaited return of one of my most prized OC Creations Amy; here in this chapter she makes her triumphant return, and that should really spice up this story a little... Unless it's spiced up enough already. To all my loyal readers; I'm glad to continue hearing from you, but I'd like to hear from more of you who may be casual readers, come on folks give me a signed review so I know what you think of this growing epic of a tale. Also for those interested in following my Transformers Universe story; another update is planned before Sunday, so keep an eye out on that. And now; Chapter Eleven...

* * *

I sat down on the edge of the regeneration bed marveling at the power still flowing through my circuits, I never thought I'd ever need a night without regenerating, but here I was still at full power. That Energon was quite a pick me up all right; bending forward I used my tendrils to switch off the bed.

"What are yah doin'?" Rogue asked as she entered the room.

"Deactivating the regeneration feature, that Energon cube doesn't seem to be dissipating as fast as normal energy." I replied straightening back up; she eyed me worriedly, I smiled at her and shook my head slightly. "It's ok, my energy level will go down eventually." I told her hoping to assuage any fears she might be having.

"Ah suppose Ah should trust yah." She returned gently closing the door; I felt my pulse quicken, just the thought of what was to come next gave me goose bumps. Rogue smiled as she looked over at me and slowly began to tug her shirt off; I didn't have that problem, since I hadn't bothered to replace the one Reflector vaporized. Kicking my shoes over to the corner I tugged off my socks while Rogue shrugged out of her shirt and moved to sit beside me. "Yah sure it'll be ok?" She asked rubbing my chest with her bare hand; I purred slightly in a deep tone at the sensations this elicited, but nodded.

"I'm sure, but if it'll make you feel better, I promise to seek out the Autobots if anything happens." I returned gently running my finger through her hair; she smiled graciously and pushed me down onto the bed.

"Sure thing Sugah." She whispered seductively; I smiled back at her and ran my fingers down her back until I reached her bra's clasp, she cooed in my ear and nuzzled my chest with her cheek. With a quick flick of the wrist her clasp flew open and I moved my hands over her smooth back marveling at the feeling of her skin and spinal column. She snuggled up closer to me and lightly kissed my chest, startling me with her new openness; with a content sigh she closed her eyes and reveled at the simple pleasures of physical contact.

"I'm glad we finally took the plunge Rogue, but you know you can't stay here the whole time I'm on vacation." I pointed out in a hushed tone; she sighed wistfully and glanced up at me with a small frown.

"Did yah have tah remind me right this minute?" She asked with a second sigh, I shook my head with a dry smile.

"Apologies my auburn haired beauty, I forgot." I returned with a gentle stroking of her hair, the silky touch of it made me feel strangely content; she smiled and let out a playful laugh before gently slapping my chest.

"Ah'll stick around until Amy shows up; or Monday, whichever comes first sugah." She whispered before settling back down into my embrace, I smiled and rubbed her back yet again depositing her bra on the floor in the process.

"Suits me just fine babe." I returned feeling bold enough to attempt a less formal term of endearment.

* * *

While this touching scene of budding romance was going on, a young girl was settling down for her first night in a strange new place. The room she was in would supposedly be next door to Mister Rutherfords' when he got back, but she still missed the sounds her friends made back home. Nancy had always just been Nancy; one of many girls who never used their last names, because they lived with Jem and the Holograms, they were orphans brought together by fate or the cruelties of life to form a family. Her mom had always told her she'd be something special one day, until the accident that made her an orphan.  
She didn't want to be here, but she didn't want to evaporate or whatever the hell was happening to her and die; why did she have to be a Mutant? She lay in her new bed and wept bitterly, her lack of self-control allowed the water to flow and soon her bed was soaked. She soon developed problems breathing and her mind spiked with fear; a loud banging sound startled her, and suddenly a shadow appeared beside her in the dark. The unknown snapped some kind of collar around her neck and almost instantly the water flow ceased, for the first time in months she felt like her old self again. The shadowy someone passed her a large glass of water, she drank it in half a second; he passed another, and another until she felt whole again.

"Sorry about the collar short stuff." A gruff voice whispered sounding a little out of the person's element. "But until ya learn some control it's safer." He added awkwardly patting her head; she yawned tiredly and quickly nodded off to sleep. "I gotta tell ya Chuck she doesn't strike me as capable of learnin' control." Logan muttered to the thin air and silence in the room.

"_We will try our best, if the worst comes to pass…_" Charles trailed off with his mental speech not wishing to voice his concerns, for fear they may indeed come to pass; he had never encountered such a Mutant before at least not one so young.

"We ain't gonna give up on her." Logan stated. "We never have before and we ain't gonna start now, we owe it to everyone we've ever failed to save and to everyone else we've taken in." He added surprising Xavier not in the least; Logan always kept his emotions to himself, but that didn't stop him from being well known to the only person aside from Jean who he'd ever let inside his head.

"_Thank you Logan, I think it best we let her get some rest now._" The Professor stated.

"Not in this wet bed." Logan countered gently picking the girl up. "Get someone in here fast with a new one from one of the empty rooms will ya." He requested; the Professor sent a brief acknowledgment and then his presence faded, Logan still wasn't used to it, but he had learned to accept it.

* * *

General Lawrence J. Flagg studiously read the report; it had taken far too long to reach him, but Snake Eyes had been called off the surveillance case when another of Cobra's little squadrons had gone on a rampage in Lybia. He did not like this one damn bit, the man known as Allan Rutherford had been an enigma since day one; and what's worse he was somewhere in Los Angeles living it up, instead of being interrogated here at the Pit. With a low growl of discontent he picked up the phone and dialed a number he rarely enjoyed employing, but it was either him or the Jugglers; and he wanted them to know about this as much as he wanted Cobra Commander to walk into his office and shoot him point blank.

"Hello, how may we direct your call?" A friendly sounding female asked when the other end was picked up.

"I need to speak with the boss." He stated. "Urgently."

"One moment please General." She replied, Flagg waited patiently, but this time he'd better get some straight answers damnit.

* * *

I awoke the next morning feeling pretty much the same as when I'd gone to sleep; Energon was a highly concentrated form of energy, when compacted in its' cube form it must have had extraordinary amounts of voltage, or whatever. That could mean I'd run at peak efficiency for the whole of next week, or another full day, I couldn't be sure. Maybe Synergy could help explain the properties of Energon, if she could remember any of it that is.  
Rogue stirred beside me and her leg rose up slightly over lapping my own, as she buried herself closer into my chest a happy smile on her lips. The physical reaction that caused brought a deep shade of crimson to my face, and I fought my sudden urges; though not easily the nanoprobes and Serenity's tender machinations had served to over stimulate my body in certain respects and my male hormones demanded release at the slightest of touches. She continued to sleep; and I let her enjoying her nearness this fine Sunday morning, most everyone who didn't have work to do would probably sleep in. At least I didn't have to worry about any more run ins' with damn Decepticons, at least not for a while I hoped. Yawning only briefly I wrapped my arm tighter over Rogue's shoulder, my eyes trailed down to the slight curve of her breasts from beneath the covers; no matter how many women, or admittedly pictures of women, I'd laid eyes on over the years. Some small part of my brain still found a giddy thrill at seeing her in all her glory, she was like an angel, a nymph, a rare golden bloom; and she was all mine… At least until I was forced to leave this world and resume my training; _damnit now why'd I have to dredge that up again?  
_Being openly comfortable with the female form; in fact with nudity in general, now that I'd lost many of my inhibitious tendencies I could enjoy her company without openly gawking like a virgin, she brought the air of contentment with her and I could be myself. I could share my soul, express my devotion and love in ways I always dreamed of and never felt comfortable enough around Serenity to try, and it pleased her, which is what I wanted to do. Was this then the definition of soul mate? As I lay beside her watching her sleep; seeing the rise and fall her breathing caused, feeling her breath tickling the hairs on my arms I reached the unmistakable conclusion that I truly did love this woman, and yes she was my soul mate… My first true love, but a soul mate? If she was my soul mate did that mean there was no one waiting for me on Earth Prime; or was I unique in that I had two soul mates, one for now when I truly needed it the most and one for later when destiny played out its hand? _Ah hell who can say; all I know is I love her and she loves me, that should be good enough for the both of us and I can make her happy, that's what counts._ Though I was uncertain just yet if I loved her, or more the idea of her, but I knew in my heart of hearts that when the time came it would be so difficult to go back to Earth Prime and leave her. _Why? Why does God allow these things to happen, how the slag can I leave this woman knowing she'll never have anything like this again?_ I closed my eyes in sudden grief and pain, it is never good to dwell on these matters; they tend to zap all the happiness from within leaving you empty inside, if I didn't know any better I'd think a Dementor was around. At least I could see Amy again soon; and if Q could be believed she'd get to stay practically the whole week.

"I hope she approves of this." I whispered to myself lightly stroking Rogue's hair and once again marveling at the auburn tresses contrasting with her single shock of pure white.

* * *

Nancy awoke in a strange looking room; the dresser was too big for her comfort, the bed as well for that matter. The darker earthy tones still felt wrong to her, and she'd never had windows so big before, but she felt less afraid when she'd gone to sleep. The collar wrapped around her neck felt vile; it looked like a dog's collar, except it had funny blinking lights on it. But it kept her ability from acting up, she remembered how close she came to dieing last night, all because she was crying.  
With a sad little sigh she got up; entered her private bathroom and got cleaned up for her first day as a Mutant student, well it wouldn't be all bad. She was going to learn how to control this thing no matter what; so she could return to the Starlight Girls and have fun again, live again.

* * *

Entering the kitchen alone this time I fixed myself breakfast; it hadn't been easy getting out of bed without waking up Rogue, but I hadn't wished to disturb her slumber just yet. I was the only one up this early, judging by the silence of the house; so I didn't need to worry about striking up any conversations. My thoughts turned to Synergy, and what style of earring I should use to create her very own holographic generators. The knowledge would forever be a part of me, thanks to Emmet's memory engrams, but being my own person I felt Syn deserved something less flashy then Jemstar earrings. As I ate I sifted through a fashion magazine I'd picked up on the way here; something simple yet elegant would do, and as an added surprise I'd decided to mark both earrings with tiny Maximal emblems. To honor her former life, once again I couldn't help, but find myself wandering to thoughts of Waspinator.  
Syn; as I'd come to call her, since I possessed many of her, I guess they were her memories. Had weaved a very careful tale last night, all knowledge of the Beast Wars she shared had been largely peripheral. And she'd left out the fact that I had a lot more knowledge concerning Cybertronians; that little lie that I knew so much because of my own contact with a stasis pod was pure genius on her part. Finishing up my breakfast I quietly cleaned the bowl out and made my way out back, still eyeing the magazine; that is until I saw the garage again. A part of me felt guilty about that, the Starlight Express and old Jem Roadster had survived unscathed, but the Glitter n' Gold Roadster and most of the other vehicles had been destroyed when Viewfinder crushed the building. Jerrica could afford to replace it, but a lot of those special vehicles couldn't be duplicated anymore or replaced, they'd lost a part of their history last night all thanks to that idiot Cyclops… No; it was because of my own foolish actions that led to this.  
Shrugging aside my thoughts I took a seat on one of the garden benches; so many earrings to choose from, and I didn't want to go the clichéd diamond route. Gold earrings were old hat too, I wanted a challenge; something that wasn't common place. So I kept flipping through the pages, nothing, nadda, bupkis as Rattrap might say… My eyes suddenly widened and I snapped my head away from the magazine staring out at nothing in particular.

"What did Emmet do with the left over parts of the stasis pod?" I wondered aloud, wheels starting to turn in my head. Dropping the magazine onto the still wet grass I leapt to my feet and raced back inside; snatching the keys to the roadster I rushed out, if my hunch was correct… "Well we'll find out in a nano."

* * *

Finding my way to the old Starlight Drive-In wasn't too difficult; a helpful police officer had given me directions, pulling into the old abandoned locale I was hit with a wave of nostalgia. My dad used to work at a Drive-In; being a projectionist and all, it was a given then that I'd experience fond memories upon seeing another one. The place had seen way better days; a lot of the old speaker poles had collapsed and the screen was down for the count, an Earthquake must have hit this place sometime in the past, and not the one Emmet remembered. At least the building proper still stood; exiting the Roadster I made my way cautiously inside, Jerrica and the others had cleaned the place out long ago, but…  
Switching to infrared I ran a complete scan over the building; yes there it was right where Emmet's memories indicated, an access panel. Popping it open I found a small key pad, scanning the numbers with my watch I discovered that Emmet's fingerprints were still visible on the code numbers; a rare feat in and of itself. Now all I had to do was decipher the sequence; considering who had been here and everything I now knew about the man it had to be simple, using my new store of Bentons' memories I concluded it was the birth date of Jerrica.

"Welcome back Doctor Benton." A very familiar voice replied as a section of wall slid away; hearing the Maximal stasis pod's voice emanating from the computer answered one question at any rate. Inside this secret room I found great wonders; schematics for Synergy plastered the walls and a picture of Benton's lost wife Jacquie graced the old wooden desk. Everything was covered in dust; even the interior of the drawers, which were empty save the black widow husk I found. That creeped me out a little; even though the spider was dead, some phobias were hard to overcome even for the nanoprobes.  
Rusted out equipment littered the corner opposite the entranceway and a few scattered components from the stasis pod littered an old fashioned x-ray machine; why he needed that escaped me, but they were useless anyway. Then I found it, the completely intact Maximal protoform; it lay forgotten slumped in a corner. The curvature was decidedly feminine, despite the complete lack of a face; its coloring was reminiscent of the suit Synergy had worn last night. The resting place of the spark was void; and I could tell that for all intents and purposes, the body was long since dead. Kneeling beside the decidedly larger framework I couldn't help myself, I had the strong desire to touch this marvelous piece of history from an alien planet.

"I wonder if your becoming Synergy was somehow preordained." I whispered to the dead shell, in this universe everything did seem to happen for a purpose. "I forgot protoforms don't have actual faces though." I added with a wistful sigh. "I had hoped to use her optics for the earring jewels."  
Suddenly I heard movement outside; someone must have come along for sightseeing… "Oh no I left the Roadster unattended." Quickly racing outside I wasn't expecting to find who I did, a young Caucasian male was standing next to an old grey and purple splotched van. Half of his face was covered by long black hair; while the other side was completely devoid of any follicles. He wore a plain looking gray shirt with black pants and sneakers; he appeared to be setting up some sort of tri-pod.

"Yes this should be like this, and that attaches here." He muttered to himself in a voice that sounded highly unusual, I knew without question that this was Techrat, but what was he doing way out here? Techrat hauled a large rectangular base from the van as I watched, which he connected to the tripod; then he attached a four quarter inch long handle of some kind, followed by what looked like half a satellite dish, two scooped out laptops that formed a sort of clam shell apparatus and an old synthesizer.  
He hadn't even noticed me, and I was curious enough not to bother him; despite the fact that I believed this to still be private property. When the device was apparently finished being put together; Techrat plugged it in to a portable generator and keyed in a musical sequence with the synthesizer.The contraption moved and whirred pointing directly across the Drive-In area, and raised a little so it was pointed fifteen feet off the ground. He then proceeded to play a song; not a very good one mind you, half the notes were off key, but his device seemed to work appropriately because it began to hum as it built up a charge in the rectangular base.  
The next thing I knew an intense white beam ripped out of the end with the satellite dish and the targeted area was suddenly ripped asunder. The very fabric of space and time buckled and broke open creating a shimmering blue vortex, I could barely believe my eyes; it looked almost like the kind I traveled through. But this one wasn't as complete or stable looking as those; in fact it looked about ready to collapse, and take a goodly portion of the surrounding area with it.

"I did it, my beautiful machine works." He proclaimed lovingly patting the base of the strange contraption.

"It's about time." A new voice grumbled; the rear doors to the van flew open and a ratty looking human emerged. He was filthy, his skin was a pasty off-white and the clothes he wore were heaps of rags barely held together and looking as though comprised of material from every era of human history. "You're sure it will get me home?" He demanded grabbing Techrat by the collar of his shirt and surprisingly lifting him off the ground.

"Of course it will; my machines always do what they're supposed to." He countered sounding far too defensive towards mere circuits and wires, _so how come neither of them bothered to wonder who I was or what I was doing here anyway; they had to have seen me._

"Good, if I had to live another minute longer on this disgusting planet I'd go insane." The decrepit looking human stated with a tone of disgust; then much to my complete surprise the human body shattered, it seemed to break apart from the inside out and emerging from it like a butterfly from a cocoon was the all too familiar yellow, black and green form of the Predacon Waspinator.  
"At last Wazzzzzpinator is free of his pretender form; Wazzzzzpinator can go back to Cybertron of the future." He proclaimed in joy racing towards the shimmering vortex on large transparent wings. This was such a shock to me that I nearly fell to the ground, all this time the lonely Predacon Waspinator had indeed managed to hide in; what looked to be a very cramped pretender shell. It boggled the mind; suddenly he stopped inches before entering the portal. "Almost forgot, can't leave Transwarp cell active." He stated turning back and firing a missile at the device, then he vanished into the Transwarp vortex; and now I had an idea of what happened, though how he'd kept that cell functional all these years was beyond me.

"No, not my beautiful machine!" Techrat cried trying to protect his contraption from the missile screaming towards him, which would lead ultimately to his very gruesome death; with swift actions and thought I entered speed mode. Or to be more precise I tapped into my gravity powers faster then I'd ever done before thanks to the Energon infused with my nanoprobes; I used those powers to drag the Roadster and Techrats' van to a safe distance, even as I hauled Techrat up one handed and dashed out of the blast radius as fast as the Flash.  
Last, but not least I ran back into the building I'd been in and reclaimed the picture of Jacquie Benton as well as the protoform, which proved heavier then it looked and quickly returned to where I'd left the vehicles and Techrat. All of this took roughly ten seconds, three more and the missile impacted with the device; the Transwarp cell inside exploded instantly. It tore apart the last vestiges of Starlight Drive-In and severely damaged the strip of highway leading up to it; in fact I'd moved ten miles down the road to avoid the blast entirely and that still almost wasn't enough. It also wasn't easy when you had to levitate a good amount of weight, considering the Roadster and van's combined weight; if not for the Energon cube I'd ingested yesterday I doubt I could have pulled off such a feat, and I still felt fully charged and raring to go.  
"He destroyed my beautiful machine." Techrat moaned as I managed to store the protoform in the Roadster's trunk.

"That could have also been your funeral pyre." I pointed out and at last Techrat seemed to notice me.

"Who cares, my precious equipment is ruined." He returned not even questioning my presence or in fact my identity; he was still too upset about the loss of his machine.

"You are one sad strange little man." I remarked before deciding it was best I got back to the mansion, well at least I could stop wondering about bloody Waspinator every time I thought about the Beast Wars; still how the hell did a guy like him pull it off staying hidden all this time without going mad?

* * *

"Has anybody seen Al?" Rogue asked entering the kitchen of Starlight Mansion with a frown; when she'd woken up without him by her side she'd felt a little lost, though she couldn't place exactly why.

"You mean he's not with you?" Kimber wondered in a teasing tone of voice.

"Ah woke up and he wasn't in bed." She admitted taking a seat at the table. "Ah'm a little worried."

"I'm sure he's fine." Aja offered with a smile; Rogue sighed and got herself some breakfast, it was certainly different in a house full of all girls and women. She ate in silence wondering where Al could have gone so early in the morning, and hoped he was all right.

* * *

Nancy sat in the center of the circle Mister Summers had set up, her collar was off, and for that she was grateful. The large buckets of water rested at each interval; as though the hours of a clock face, the Professor was outside the circle facing her an encouraging smile on his lips.

"We will try something very simple today." He explained. "Your body is being affected by two things, your emotional state and the trigger that is forcing you to release all the water at once." He elaborated steepling his fingers as he spoke; Nancy swallowed nervously, according to the big blue giant they called Hank, this trigger thing was bad. But he couldn't do anything about it unless she learned control; at least that's what he'd told her as gently as he could when they first explained things to her yesterday.  
"I want you to imagine yourself floating in the ocean." The Professor instructed. "Everything is calm and quiet." Nancy nodded, she wasn't comfortable talking to these people yet; closing her eyes she imagined herself exactly as the Professor said. She began to feel a sense of weightlessness, and all of her fears and worries started to fade away; to the back of her mind. She continued to lose all sense of time and things, in a matter of moments the entire place felt like it really was the ocean, and she felt at peace. "Now concentrate on your trigger and try to bring it under control; to use it and the water around you to make it do whatever you want." He called out seemingly from a great distance. Nancy really missed her friend; she wanted to see her again, so maybe she could make a picture of Marie' with the water. Concentrating with all her might she tried her best to picture Marianne in her mind; when she was confident enough she opened her eyes and raised her arms.  
Water flew out of her fingertips, but it didn't form any image; instead it became small projectiles they slammed into the nearest bucket shattering the wooden construct.

"Wow, but I didn't want to do that." Nancy admitted with a sigh.

"I see, but that was most promising for your first try." The Professor returned with a warm smile. "Shall we try again?" Nancy nodded and closed her eyes once more; she was going to master this power; she was sure of it.

* * *

Allan pulled back up to Starlight Mansion just a few hours after he'd left; he was still feeling at full power despite the taxing things he'd done and he was beginning to think that it was definitely more useful then he would have thought, that Energon. As soon as he shut off the Roadster's engine he found himself trapped by powerful arms; Rogue's lips met his in a passionate kiss and he let out a shocked noise at the unexpected welcome, almost like a squeal.

"She definitely missed him." Shana observed with a smile as she and Aja finished leading a bunch of contractors over to the garage.

"We want this fixed by tonight; and we'll pay a healthy bonus if you can do it." Jerrica informed the group; the foreman chuckled and shook his head.

"It'll take at least a day, and that's if we work non-stop." He returned. "No amount of money in the world can change that."

"There must be a way to get it fixed quickly." Jerrica pleaded.

"You could try asking Thor or the Thing." One of the contractors returned with a rude laugh, he and his fellow workers left sharing some pretty nasty jokes, and one kept ogling Jerrica. Finally Rogue let Al go and pulled away from the kiss; he gasped for air and gazed at the sparkling expression in her eyes.

"Next time Sugah, tell mah where yah're goin'." She whispered with a warm smile, the man sighed and got out of the car.

"Those slag heaps wouldn't be much help anyway Jerrica." He called out wrapping his arm around Rogue's waist and retrieving the picture from the dashboard.

"But we have to fix the garage." She returned with a sigh; Al smiled and strode over to the Hologram leader.

"And we will, but why waste money on jerks like them when you've got two of the best people staying here who can do the job ten times better and faster." He retorted with a light chuckle; Jerrica looked taken aback at that.

"I wouldn't dream of asking you to do that, you're our guests." She stated firmly as if that settled the matter; Al shook his head.

"Who's askin' ya to ask?" He shot back. "This is all partially my fault anyway, I mean I led the Decepticreeps here; so I'm going to fix this garage with or without you're consent." He stated firmly crossing his arms over his chest; Jerrica laughed at that and shook her head disbelievingly, she couldn't remember ever meeting a more stalwart and determined person in the whole of her life.

"All right fine, you can help." She relented eyeing the picture frame now in the young man's hand with an air of curiosity. "What's that?" She asked; Al fidgeted a little and handed it to her.

"I sort of found this at Starlight Drive-In." He replied sheepishly. "I'm afraid there was an accident out there, this was all I could save." He added with a frown and he lowered his head in slight remorse.

"What kind of accident?" She wondered in turn not bothering to look at the picture right away as she took the frame from him.

"Uh… I don't think you'd believe me if I told you." He began rubbing the back of his neck as he often did when he was nervous or agitated. "Suffice it to say the Starlight Drive-In is no longer on the map, kind of blew up so to speak." He elaborated.

"Blew up?" Rogue pried eyeing him critically; she hated to think he could have been seriously injured and she didn't even know where he was to get him help.

"Exploded, vaporized, has ceased to exist." Al elaborated further with a shrug and a brief wistful sigh. "A real pity too; I kinda grew up on a Drive-In." He added with another sigh; Jerrica lowered her head in remorse and finally examined the picture, her face lit up slightly and a few tears sprang into being at the corner of her eyes.

"I thought we'd lost this." She whispered with a sad smile. "Thank you." She exclaimed leaping at Al so suddenly it took him by surprise as she gave him a peck on the cheek out of gratitude.

"Er, but what about the Drive-In?" He wondered confused by her reaction.

"Oh, yes; it is horrible that it was destroyed, but you found one of the only pictures of mom that dad ever took." She explained; Al smiled at that and shook his head in disbelief.

"Oh, right." He began suddenly remembering his payload in the trunk. "I have something for Synergy too," He stated releasing Rogue from the half embrace he'd returned to and dashing back to the Roadster.

"Something for me?" Syn asked materializing beside Jerrica in her human guise; Al nodded shooting the hologram a broad smile and popped the trunk to be rewarded with a series of gasps.

"I kind of thought I could use your optics to help make those earrings I promised, but I forgot… Well you know." He explained enthusiastically, Syn knelt next to her former Maximal body and ran her hand over her cheek. The holographic image let a few stray tears slide down her human cheek and glanced back up at the man who'd only tried to be helpful, but the look in her eyes was not a pleasant one.

"Why'd you have to bring it here?" She demanded climbing to her feet and taking a step towards him. "What made you think I'd want to have this lying around reminding me of a life I am no longer a part of?"

"I didn't… I mean I thought…" Al stammered at a loss to understand her reaction.

"That I'd want this?" She demanded a second time indicating the protoform; then she slapped Al hard across the cheek and vanished, leaving a rather distraught and confused young man.

"Aw hexagonal nuts." He moaned slamming the trunk shut with a low growl. "I should have left it to be vaporized, but damn it I thought she'd want to at least see it one more time or something." He grumbled leaning against the back of the car, Rogue shot him a knowing look and Jerrica eyed him disappointedly.

"Yah sure about that Sugah?" She asked with arms crossed; Al started to say something only to snap his mouth shut in sudden realization, he proceeded to slap his forehead and let out a groan.

"How could I have been so selfish?" He asked with another deep sigh, Rogue patted his shoulder and shook her head exasperatedly.

"She'll forgive yah, Ah'm sure, but Ah think yah should get rid of that." She stated indicating the trunk, Al nodded yet again sighing as he glanced down at the hidden offensive item.

"I'll, uh, find some way to dispose of it." He acknowledged wondering to himself just how that'd be possible, since he didn't know of any raw Energon crystals lying around that could help him take care of this.

* * *

Nancy smiled proudly as the liquid rainbow continued to flow from her left hand to her right; it was only a little after lunch and she'd already shown great promise, because of her strong determination to gain control so she could return home.

"This is so cool." She exclaimed with a laugh.

"You certainly are progressing rather quickly." Hank agreed. "You should take a break though, have some fun." He encouraged a neutral expression on his face.

"No!" She cried vehemently turning from Hank. "I'm going to master this gift, and in order to do that I can't waste time." She informed ceasing the flow of water and turning back to the target range; Hank shook his head, the young girl was putting too much pressure on herself, but she wouldn't listen to him and he knew it.

* * *

Al pounded the dent out of the roof he'd managed to salvage; lifting the hammer he was using was a cinch with gravity so low; Rogue hauled the left hand wall out of the rubble with a slight grunt. Lunch had gone by fairly quickly and the girls were having fun playing tennis; well at least some of them, Deidre, Ashley, Krissie and Anne were watching the two mutants work.

"Yah sure we can fix this?" Rogue wondered slamming the wall back onto the foundation; fortunately it was relatively intact, Rio pulled out the blowtorch and began to fuse it back together.

"It'd go faster with the others here." Al replied with a shrug.

"I can't believe Jerrica is letting you stay here." Rio grumbled from behind his welders mask. "You're more trouble then you're worth."

"Rio." Jerrica chastised as she, Roxy, Kimber and Stormer came outside to join the observers.

"How are we gonna fix everythin'?" Rogue wondered glancing at her lover curiously; a smile played across his features.

"Easy, we've still got that." He reminded pointing as he spoke, to the crushed remains of Spyglass; with Spectro and Viewfinder already taking up enough room in the Blackbird Al had told the Professor to leave it behind. It was little more then an overgrown paperweight anyway considering it looked nothing like a robot anymore.

"Isn't that a little morbid?" Kimber asked with a frown; Al chuckled and shook his head wiping the bit of perspiration from his brow.

"He tried to kill me, not to mention he's the only substitute material we've got lying around; and despite how easily he crumbled Cybertronian alloys are ten times sturdier then man-made ones." He returned matter of factly. "Besides; his spark has already rejoined the Matrix; that's nothing more then an empty shell." He added in a lower tone so not everyone could hear him; Rogue shook her head, but continued to hold the wall steady while Rio fused it back to the foundations. They worked ceaselessly for the next two hours and the garage was quickly rebuilt with a Decepticon body as part of it.

* * *

The young girl pouted as she fought to get her suitcase closed, for being so careful in choosing the proper size; she hadn't expected to have so many difficulties. With one final heave the locks clicked into place, she smiled happily and looked over to her bed with a wistful sigh. She really needed that, but according to her transport coordinator she couldn't take it in a suitcase; and she didn't know if it would be coming or not. Without warning a man appeared in her room, she rolled her eyes at the flashy entrance and picked up her suitcase.

"There will be a few changes this time, so try not to get too excited." He requested before the world around her faded away in a flash.

* * *

I slumped onto the couch exhausted, I still had to apologize to Synergy, but rebuilding an entire garage was time consuming; especially when you had to tear apart a rather large lump of a Decepticon corpse and refashion the body parts into suitable building materials. Made me wish I had a couple of Constructicons like Mixmaster around to help with the difficult task, but with Rogue and my gravity powers we somehow managed.  
It was only a little after five-thirty; everyone had eaten dinner and Stormer wanted to see a new movie that the girls couldn't go to, she'd talked Roxy, Aja and Kimber into going with her. So Rogue, Shana and Jerrica were out back watching out for the girls as they finished their tennis match, which is why I was alone when Q decided to pop in; I did my best to hide my excitement, but it really wasn't good enough for him.

"Oh please, you're practically drooling." He quipped snapping his fingers and switching the Starfleet uniform for a Van Halen tee-shirt and jeans. "What, too grunge?" He asked at seeing my confused and disturbed look, his outfit changed yet again so that he looked like a business executive.

"Can we stop playing dress up and get to the chase?" I requested ignoring the hurt look he adopted at my tone; sometimes he played around too much.

"Fine, all right." He replied haughtily. "But you know I'm never comfortable in these things." He added casually as he tugged at the tie. "Ok; here's the skinny so pay attention, you get her for the week. Her regen-bed is in your room; because we all know Ms. Benton can only go so far when it comes to tolerance, and you have been pushing things." He rattled off ticking the rules on his fingers with each new one.

"And whose fault is that?" I demanded growing a little irate. "You said there wouldn't be any problems." I pointed out annoyedly.

"And there weren't, now were there?" He wondered with a bemused smile.

"Check." I muttered under my breath.

"She's in the foyer, but I took the liberty of stowing her suitcase upstairs so you could get her acquainted with your hosts." He continued rambling tugging at his tie yet again; I rolled my eyes hiding the thrill of anticipation. "And I promise this time it's for the whole week, nothing hidden, no crisis to avert, just good clean visiting fun." He added ignoring my show of disrespect.

"If that's everything." I remarked in a dismissive tone, he shot me a look and I couldn't help, but smile. Despite our somewhat volatile relationship it was admittedly quite amusing and perhaps even thrilling to be interacting with the omnipotent pest; unlike Picard or the rest I tended to consider Q as sort of a friend, or perhaps more accurately the annoying uncle you loved to hate, but couldn't help to feel something towards.

"Actually no, the documents you promised to deliver to your computer friend." He stated waving his hand like a magician and producing a file folder. "Everything's in there and the necessary copies are on file with the government and all that… Oh yes and I took the liberty of removing the Maximal protoform for you, and I also believe you were searching for these." He added producing a pair of perfectly formed seven inch sized violet hued opals.

"Er, thank you Q." I returned unable to think of any witty remarks to jibe him with.

"Well at least someone appreciates my work." He stated smugly, with a final tug of his tie he flashed out leaving me alone, I carefully stowed the gems in my pocket and placed the folder on the end table. And then I calmly left the living room to reunite with my daughter.

* * *

As soon as she saw him she smiled, let out a screech of joy and ran into his open arms; he hugged her tightly as she wrapped her tail around his waist and purred with joy, literally.

"I thought you did that only when you slept." He admitted in a hushed tone afraid that at any moment his daughter would be gone again.

"Oh daddy." She returned equally softly, nuzzling his cheek she closed her eyes and just let the man hold her. He smiled now holding his little one in a tight embrace without thought of the world around him, then a sudden thought came to him.

"Everyone is outside or out for the evening, a perfect opportunity for you to meet someone." He whispered, leading her back to the living room briefly he snagged the folder and then made the way upstairs. "You can't tell anybody about this." He warned.

"I understand daddy." She accepted with a tiny nod; and together the two of them passed through the holographic disguise and into Synergy's private room. She looked up at him in some alarm at first, her holographic form looking as though it had been crying for hours; the man's face fell with guilt and shame. And then her eyes fell on Amy and she leapt to her feet in astonishment; the young girl very astutely detected the fear and sorrow, even from the hologram and she offered a warm smile.

"Amy this is Synergy, Synergy I would like you to meet; my daughter." He introduced beaming proudly with his last words; whatever harsh words Syn had been preparing to let loose on the young man vanished instantly and a smile lit her face.

"Al, she's gorgeous." Syn whispered reaching out a hand cautiously towards the child, Amy approached with a giggle and curtsied; _she's been learning while she was away, how long this time? _The child allowed the hologram to touch her hair, Syn petted it once and then pulled back, she shot the man a glare.

"I know I made a terrible mistake this morning." Al began beating her to the punch. "But I came to apologize, and give you this." He added passing her the folder, she eyed it inquisitively. "Roma had Q deliver it, it's all the necessary documentation showing you legally exist as a human." He explained; Syn flipped through the pages quickly and nodded.

"Thank you." She stated in a subdued tone crossing the room to stow the folder on her physical self. "And I accept your apology, now you two better go before Jerrica finds you." She continued ushering the young man towards the exit, Amy followed beside them eyeing Syn curiously, but she didn't say a word. They left and Al proceeded to lead her back downstairs; she was politely quiet at first, and then she paused near the back entrance as if reaching a decision.

"Three and a half months Daddy." She revealed with a sad sigh; the man's heart trembled at those words and he felt a tear briefly touch the corner of his eye, but he quickly brushed it aside.

"Oh my little one." He whispered squeezing her in a hug once more. "I am so sorry; I wish you could be with me always, but…" He trailed off choking back the urge to burst into tears. Amy nuzzled his cheek again and patted his back, acting perhaps a little too mature for her age.

"It's ok Daddy." She whispered in his ear. "One day we'll get to be a real family again." He smiled at her optimism, his heart considerably lightened and he released her from the tight embrace.

"Come on, it's time to meet Jerrica and the girls." He stated.

"Girls?" She asked growing nervous.

* * *

Nancy lashed out with her leg and snapped the board in half, Logan's eyes widened a little in respect and he picked up another one; she knew her stuff that was for sure.

"She's certainly applying herself." Hank observed with a slight frown from the observation room overlooking the danger room. "She's done more in one day then most children her age ever have in a week."

"Yes, she should be commended for her determination and commitment." The Professor agreed briefly smiling. "However I fear she may burn herself out faster this way." He added as he continued to watch the girl enhance her martial arts skills with some concern; it had been fortunate that young Aja Leith had already been training her, it helped develop much needed mental discipline.

"She won't listen to any of us." Hank pointed out with a sigh. "Not even the teenagers." He added.

"Then perhaps we should appeal to Miss Benton to assist us in ensuring the girl does not fade." The Professor mused steepling his fingers as he continued to observe his youngest charge.

"A veritable epiphany." Hank agreed with a slight smile.

"But we shall wait until the morning." The Professor added in after thought; Hank nodded understandably and crossed his arms as he continued to observe the young girl practice with Logan.

* * *

Ba Nee saw us approaching first, but she didn't know who was with me and couldn't tell very well from that distance, still it was enough to alert them that we were coming. When Amy first saw how many girls there were she became very nervous and vanished behind me; leaping up she clung to my back with her arms leaving everything else except them hidden from view.

"Sugah!" Rogue exclaimed when we were close enough; she dashed over to me and pulled me in for a long and hard kiss, I heard Amy giggle with excitement at that.

"Way to go Daddy." She whispered happily; Rogue pulled back and shot the kid a knowing look before she turned back to address me.

"Sorry." She began with a playful smile. "But Ah can't seem tah get enough of your kisses." She added causing me to smile back, reaching out I entwined my arm with hers and together we approached the others; Amy still safely hidden from view.

"I see someone is shy." Shana observed indicating the young girls arms wrapped gently around my neck.

"Is that Nancy?" Terri wondered taking a few steps closer in some confusion.

"No." I replied a twinkle in my eye. "Now is not the time for fear my little one." I whispered over my shoulder; I felt her glare boring into the back of my head, she needed to do this at her own pace and in her own time.

"_Remember Daddy other children always make fun of me._" She retorted using her telepathic gift to answer me.

"Not these girls." I spoke aloud." These girls would never make fun of you, I told them all about you; well practically all about you." I added with a wink at the girls; their faces lit up with sudden surprise and joy, they all now knew who it was hiding behind my back. Shana was shocked into silence while Jerrica beamed proudly at her own girls before shooting me an encouraging smile, but Amy still needed some time.

"Please come out." Ba Nee requested in a timid tone as she took a few steps closer. "We promise not to make fun of you Amy." She added softly; at the sound of her name her grip slackened a little, she popped her head over my shoulder without warning and eyed the girls before us. At the sight of just her face a few of the older girls gasped in surprise; it was one thing to be told what to expect, but it was quite different seeing a human girls face peering back at you with so many obvious differences, especially the cat-like eyes.  
And to them she was human; only mutated because of the x-gene resulting in this change, not an alien whom I adopted and cared more for then the world itself. Amy slowly hopped off of my back and came around to get a closer look; her tail curled up slightly into the air and the hackles on the back of her neck rose with slight fear. She tilted her head to one side and then politely curtsied; each of the girls' reactions was different, Ba Nee approached the girl and reached out for a timid handshake.  
Terri squealed in delight and shocked Amy, a rare thing indeed; by rushing forward and giving her a big hug. Marianne smiled timidly and waved, while Joellen and Krissie both said hi at the same time; Delaree, Becky and Lela offered polite smiles of greeting, while Ashley eyed the girl with a broad grin. Anne and Deidre however started to whisper something to one another; I frowned at that, but Amy hadn't noticed their rudeness so I didn't call attention to it.

"Daddy." Amy exclaimed leaping back from the girls with a start and tugging at my shirt. "_How am I supposed to remember so many names?_ She asked mentally.

"_You just will, I managed after all._" I replied mentally as well so as not to embarrass the girl; it was quite nice to have our link open again even if it only was for those few moments.

"She's adorable." Jerrica spoke up breaking into my inner thoughts; she knelt beside Amy and looked the girl square in the eye. "And I have a feeling she'll grow up to be a beautiful young woman." Amy blushed at the compliment and reached out a hand to shake Jerrica's, I smiled proudly at the compliment myself and felt my face beaming once more.

"Amy Chelerise Rutherford, may I present our hostess Jerrica Benton." I stated using her full name for the first real time; she wrinkled her nose and frowned a little at the false last name, but she smiled politely when Jerrica shot her a warm smile.

"That's a lovely name." Shana commented joining us, Ba Nee turned to the others.

"We still have a tournament to finish." She reminded; everyone else nodded and most of them returned to the tennis court." Want to watch?" Ba Nee asked Amy turning back to face the slightly shorter girl.

"Sure, I've never seen this game before." She admitted allowing Ba Nee to lead her to the court; I watched her go with slight worry, but I quickly put it out of my mind nothing could happen to her.

"I'll go prepare a room for her." Shana offered turning to leave.

"Uh, that won't be necessary." I informed nervously rubbing the back of my neck. "She has her own small bed, which we already put in my room… She's still kind of afraid to sleep by herself." I explained covering for the fact that in truth Amy required regeneration like me and her bed happened to look completely alien, not to mention that she was really only two.

"Oh, well why don't you come join us?" Shana suggested returning to her seat.

"Of course, Rogue." I requested turning to her.

"Ah should really go pack, Ah need to get back and make sure Nancy's ok." She returned prying her arm from mine; I grabbed her wrist to stop her before she could take a step.

"Please." I whispered. "Just stay one more night I'm sure Amy won't mind and I don't want to say goodbye just yet." I added with a slight frown, she eyed the girls briefly nervously biting her lip and then she gave me a quick nod followed by a kiss.

"Ok Sugah, I kinda don't want to leave just yet myself." She admitted with a content smile, I returned the gesture and ran my fingers through her hair before sitting on the chair she'd vacated. She slipped into my lap and we kissed again; longer this time, Amy saw us and smiled.

"What is it?" Ba Nee wondered looking over to the two adult Mutants sharing their passionate moment.

"I'm just happy for my Daddy." The young Catarian returned before turning back to watch Lela and Deidre playing. "So, can you explain the rules of this game?" She asked politely feeling herself settling in, Ba Nee smiled and happily began the lesson.

* * *

The eleven individuals entered the room roughly around the same time, each one knew that this meeting had to be important, but they didn't exactly know why. They took their seats at the table and patiently awaited their orders; they did not have long to wait, an older gentleman in a General's uniform complete with hat and sunglasses joined them swiftly. He took his own seat at what was generally known as the head of the table; even though it was round, joining him was a man in a mostly dark blue and white jumpsuit covered by a long dark trench coat and with an eye patch over his left eye, an unlit cigar butt rested in his mouth.

"What is said in this room is classified, it does not get repeated." The General stated flatly, the group nodded in understanding and awaited the Generals' report. "Damn it, I hate this epic super hero crap mixing up with our business and missions." He muttered loudly making it perfectly clear that what was said indeed would be, interesting if nothing else.

"Perhaps you should start Colonel Fury." Hawk suggested turning as he spoke to eye the man in question, Fury nodded and moved over to the large monitor seated behind the General.

"The image before you is of a man you all have come to know, he is the object of some concern for your organization, his name… Allan Rutherford." Fury explained as the image of a fairly attractive looking dark haired, blue eyed six foot four inch man graced the monitor; he was standing next to three members of the X-Men fighting against a horde of B.A.Ts.

"We still haven't been able to track him down for questioning." Duke commented eyeing the man angrily; because of his disappearance he had already condemned him without caring to hear his side of things.

"He's at Starlight Mansion as we speak; he needed a change of scene." Fury revealed switching the images to represent the location in question. "At least according to my source."

"You're letting a possible security risk stay there without bringing him in?" Scarlett demanded incredulously shifting in her seat. "All of those young girls could be in very real danger." She snapped.

"They already were." Fury shot back changing images yet again to reveal the forms of two Decepticons being examined by SHIELD scientists. "Aside from that kidnapping threat averted earlier this week my source has revealed that for some reason they don't exactly know why, these two Decepticons attacked Rutherford last evening. As you can see they were easily dispatched thanks to Rutherford and some members of the X-Men visiting at the time." He added.

"But then shouldn't the others be gunning for them?" Rock n' Roll wondered regarding the dead creatures disbelievingly.

"Rutherford reprogrammed the lone survivor with false memories." Fury revealed, Duke opened his mouth about to talk, but Fury beat him to it. "That's too complicated to get into right now." He stated annoyedly. "Look, we know that Rutherford was seen in contact with known affiliates of Cobra, we also understand your eagerness to bring him in for questioning. But right now he's off limits; he's already done this country a great service by killing the Red Skull." Fury paused to let that bit of news sink in before continuing. "And believe it or not he's been sent here by Roma; I'm not saying that gets him off the hook, but I do think the man deserves to be left alone for the remainder of his, so called vacation. He's generally a good guy, plus I believe after what that man's been through, he could use all the R&R he can get." Fury finished a haunted expression passing over his features. "You didn't see what the Skull did to him, it wasn't pretty."

"That's all well and good Colonel." Stalker began leaning forward in his seat. "But he spoke face to face with Cobra Commander, I don't care what he's done; or who sent him. All I want to know is if Cobra is starting to gather mutants; and I bet he can tell us."

"Don't count on it." A new voice broke in from the nether; with a blinding flash of light a dark haired man wearing a Generals ensemble appeared.

"What are you doing here?" Fury exclaimed speaking for the collected group.

"Come now I don't need a reason to visit the head of SHIELD do I?" The unknown man asked with a dry smile and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Besides you are talking about my charge, so to speak." He added examining the men and women in the room and ignoring them openly with a show of disdain.

"I thought you only bugged Starfleet Captain's in general." Fury retorted narrowing his eye.

"I go wherever I am needed, and I never bug anybody." Q returned with a smirk. "Is it my fault you humans are so easily annoyed by things you don't understand, such small minds, is it any wonder I turned that man into a Borg?" He asked speaking more to himself then the other occupants of the room.

"What are you planning on doing?" Fury wondered deciding it would be best to get this over with before some of the Joes tried something foolish.

"I made a promise to that young man that he'd have a week to visit his daughter; and call me what you will, but I do honor my promises." Q stated all kidding aside as he adopted a more serious tone. "Therefore I'm afraid I'm going to have to erase your memories." He added raising his hand about to snap his fingers.

"I don't think so pal." Flint countered pulling his pistol from his arm holster; Q rolled his eyes, suddenly a sword was at his throat. He turned to see Snake Eyes at his side and he let out a sigh.

"Honestly you humans and your desires to retain free will, but I suppose we can reach a compromise." Q stated snapping his fingers, a pen and large sheet of paper appeared in his hands. "All you have to do is sign this contract stating that you won't go anywhere near Allan until he returns to Xavier's', and I'll forget the memory wipes." He informed; the Joes and Fury eyed him critically, Q sighed and placed the items on the table.  
"Look I'm trying to be reasonable here, I could have just wiped your memories from my universe you realize, but I tried to be nice about it and come here personally." He elaborated impatiently tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"Fine, fine I didn't have a problem anyway." Fury exclaimed pulling the two items across the desk and swiftly signing the contract.

"Are you out of your mind?" General Flagg demanded slamming the table with his palm; this was beginning to stink of something the Jugglers might pull, and he didn't like it one bit.

"No Laurence, and I won't be; there's no way I'm going to let him alter my memory. Besides Al isn't going anywhere, and I've seen his daughter in a bad mood; trust me you don't want to make her leave her father earlier then she's expecting." Fury countered with a rare smile.

"Come on General this is a one time offer." Q added swinging his finger like a pendulum.

"And what's the catch?" Lady Jaye wondered eyeing Q knowingly.

"You go anywhere near him to discuss business or arrest him before he gets back to Xavier's… Well, I'm afraid I don't know what the consequences will be; Roma gave me the contract." He revealed; then he shoved the pen towards General Flagg's hand.

"Well I trust her at least." Flagg stated reluctantly accepting the pen. "I can't believe I'm giving in to this trumped up lawyer." He added with a disgusted look on his face.

"If the General will sign, I suppose I can too." Hawk admitted taking the pen next.

"Nicknames or code names don't count." Q warned keeping his victory smile hidden from view, but he was still treading water here. "The things I do for that lower life form." He muttered to himself as Duke took the pen from Hawk; after everyone else in the room reluctantly signed Q snapped up the contract and checked to make sure all the names were legit.  
"Interesting." He observed when he got to Snake Eyes' name; then he snapped his fingers and both pen and contract vanished. "Well thank you for your time, and try not to look so glum after all Cobra can't keep itself afloat forever." He finished before vanishing in another blinding flash of light.

"And now there's the matter of those Decepticons." Flagg stated turning to face Fury as if nothing had happened; business was still business after all and the tech boys had been itching to reverse engineer some Cybertronian weapons to use against Cobra.

To Be Continued; **Duh, duh, dahhhh (Or however you spell out that little tune thingy.) tah dah; as promised Amy is back in the spotlight... She's so cuuuuute; isn't she? Cough Ahem; right, in the next exciting chapter more fun, more Amy, more Al and Rogue fluff at least until Monday afternoon when Rogue takes off back to Xavier's... All this and more fun with Cobra, GIJoe and the Transformers in the next exciting chapters of Sea of Turmoil! Be here, same Jem and the Holograms time; same Jem and the Holograms channel. (Curse you Adam West and your campy sixties television series.)**


	12. Chapter 12 Amy in Starlight Mansion Pt 1

**Author's Notes:** A pretty lengthy update this time; I got going so much when I made up this chapter I just couldn't stop, wanting to show off Amy as much as possible and have that scene where Al sings another song involved as well... On that note I should take a brief moment to say: I don't claim to own the song, I merely incorporated it into my story, sure I know there's like some rule or other saying we can't, but that's not how I write stuff and besides; Amy wanted comfort and I just can't deny my fictional creation.  
Please Read & Review folks; it would mean so much to me if you do, and on that note I leave you to enjoy Chapter Twelve...

* * *

After seeing to the unpacking of Amy's suitcase I settled down on the bed and examined her own regeneration bed wondering where best to put it, Amy glanced over at me from where she was just putting the last of her underwear away in the free drawer.

"This spot will do fine Daddy." She stated. "It's close to the window so I won't be too hot and it's close enough to your bed so I, uh, won't feel alone." She added with a sheepish little grin; I chuckled and ruffled her hair as she came over and hugged me, then I lowered her smaller bed to the spot she'd indicated with her tail.

"Ah don't know about stayin' here Sugah." Rogue admitted sitting on the edge of the bed next to me; I smiled at her and kissed her cheek.

"Relax Rogue, Amy's slept in my quarters since day one and when Serenity was over for the night it didn't bother her." I stated; Rogue eyed me slightly upset at the mention of my former sex partner, but she knew there'd never been anything between us and she knew how much I loved her.

"Besides I like to see my Daddy happy, and you are only spending the night; not performing mating rituals like Aunt Serenity sometimes wanted to." Amy added with a happy smile as she hopped up beside me and Rogue; I sighed and ruffled her hair slightly a second time.

"That won't stop me from feelin' awkward, but Ah can understand where yah're comin' from little sug." Rogue stated reaching out briefly to pat Amy as well, Amy smiled and nuzzled up against Rogue who looked at the girl in horror; I shot her a quick smile and squeezed her shoulder while Amy smiled holding Rogues' bare hand briefly in her own tiny one.

"Relax Rogue; remember I'm Technorganic Borg too." She stated with a giggle; Rogue let out a tiny gasp of remembrance and ruffled the girls' hair with her bare skinned hand, she'd never experienced this kind of joy either leaning down she hugged Amy tightly and kissed her little cheek a stray tear escaping from the corner of her eye. I grinned openly before glancing to the clock, gently tugging on Amy's arm I picked her up and headed for the bathroom; she pouted slightly.

"Time to get ready for bed little one." I stated; her pout deepened into a frown, but she did as she was told picking up a face cloth and beginning to wash her face. I helped her prepare; brushing her hair while she cleaned her teeth, a habit that her carnivorous nature would not allow her to cease, even though it was unnecessary. Once her hair was significantly free of all tangles I carefully and expertly braided it; it had been a very long time indeed since I'd done this for her, she rarely slept with braided hair, but I felt a strong urge to do it tonight. It allowed me to be with her as much as possible; and that was something I needed even though we had a whole week to be together the guilt of having to part from her once more drove me to these types of things.

"Thank you Daddy." She whispered turning and wrapping me in a big hug.

"You're welcome sweetie." I returned with a fatherly smile; Amy yawned and rubbed at her eyes as we reentered the main room, I caught Rogue smiling at the child's actions and felt a surging of pride and even deeper feelings as I realized that she cared for her as much as I did. I suppose the child just brought out the parent in all of us; with another smile I helped Amy with her shoes as the girl struggled out of her shirt. I fetched her pajamas and helped her into the tops while she effortlessly removed her pants; you'd think it'd be awkward with an extra appendage, but no.  
My eyebrow quirked in amusement as I saw the images on her panties; she'd taken to the Transformers so fast, but then again she was infatuated with her father and everything he liked she tended to like. After helping her into her bottoms I gave her another quick hug and watched as she curled up on her own regeneration bed; the moss like stylings she'd long ago requested looked almost like the beds of her people as I recalled. With a tiny wave goodnight she pulled the leaf patterned comforter over her body and soon drifted asleep.

"That is so cute." Rogue whispered as the soft purring sound began to drift about the room; I smiled and pulled Rogue up onto my lap rubbing the soft skin under her shirt, she cooed slightly and wrapped her arms around my neck nuzzling my chest with her cheek. "Ah suppose we should turn in too." She said with a smile.

"I suppose so." I agreed with a sigh; the Energon made me less willing to sleep, just another blasted thing to concern myself over or in the least bring up with the Autobots should I need to talk with them. Rogue smiled further and began to pull my shirt off moving at a relatively even pace; when she had my chest bare she ran her hand across it once more reveling in the touch, I in turn used my tendrils to unclip the bra clasp while her shirt was still on. She frowned slightly and I quickly returned them to their resting place; as a show of apology I kissed her, quickly and with no real time for her to move in to the kiss. She let out a tiny sigh and smiled as I ran my hand over the smooth curvature of her back.

"We haven't even had more then one real date." She observed as I shrugged out of the shirt entirely and tossed it into the hamper.

"When I get back to the mansion I aim to change that; how does a picnic in central park sound?" I wondered rubbing her waist once more.

"Heavenly." She replied moving back and tossing her own shirt towards the hamper; we both got off the bed and finished getting undressed, she cooed once more as we snuggled under the covers together and ran her foot up my inner leg. "Any other plans Sugah?" She wondered as she curled up into my embrace; I draped one arm over her shoulder and lightly ran my fingers through her hair.

"We'll just have to wait and see what comes." I replied with a wink as I switched the lights off with one tendril and closed the door more firmly with the second; she frowned slightly, I don't think she was used to these yet in the sense that she wasn't willing to allow me to use them to explore her body or even to touch her lightly in a caress.

"Sugah; your boxers are itchy." She complained; my face turned hot and I squirmed around briefly on the bed, her eyes lit up in the dark as my boxers flew towards the hamper. "Why Sugah, yah shouldn't have." She cooed teasingly into my ear; I tried to fight my bodies' urges and relax so we could get to sleep, but it wasn't easy especially when she laughed lightly and brushed her knee up against my very hard manhood teasing me further. She pulled herself impossibly tighter up against my now nude body and rested her head upon my chest rubbing her free hand across the pectorals. I let out a tiny loving sigh and began to nod off despite certain feelings of sudden strong desire; soon the world around me faded and sleep over took me, and with it came strange dreams, but I slept blissfully unrecognizing of these dreams cocooned as I was in my lovers embrace.

* * *

Amy woke up first the next morning and smiled at the sight of her father and Rogue sleeping in each other's arms; the two of them made such a wonderful couple, she was amazed that it took so long for them to get together. Of course to her it had been three and a half months, but to them it had only been about a week and a half.  
Quietly entering the bathroom she turned on the shower and began to get ready for a brand new week; part of her wondered what the Holograms offered that the X-Men did not. Releasing her braids with a deft tug of her tendrils and quickly getting undressed, she hoped into the shower; she then began to clean herself off. After a while Rogue slipped in and watched in fascination as the two year old easily managed to take care of herself.

"You're next?" Amy wondered grabbing a towel from the rack and beginning to dry herself off.

"Ah suppose so; Ah'll be leavin' after lunch." She replied slipping past the girl and entering the still hot shower.

"Do you have to?" She asked with a pout. "You and Daddy looked so happy sleeping together."

"Sorry little sug, but Ah promised Nancy Ah'd be there tah help her with her gift." Rogue returned grabbing the soap and lathering up.

"Who's Nancy?" Amy wondered grabbing the brush and beginning to straighten out her hair.

"A Starlight girl who developed mutant powers; she's alone right now at the Professah's and Ah promised to look out fer her." She explained; Amy nodded thoughtfully and continued to brush her hair, her daddy came in next rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning openly. He tousled her hair briefly and made his way to the toilet; Amy ignored her father's morning regime and ran her tongue over the tips of her teeth searching for any imperfections. Rogue slipped out of the shower partially and tossed the broken remnants of the old soap into the rubbish bin; he let the toilet lid slam down and began to rummage in the cupboard for a new bar of soap. Amy let out a giggle as she realized this little routine could almost be construed as something a family would do.  
He found the soap tucked away behind a spare bottle of shampoo and sighed with obvious relief; as he got back up he nearly banged his head on the pipes sticking underneath the sink, Amy finished what she was doing and went to get dressed. Rogue finished her shower and shut the water off, leaving Al the opportunity to flush the toilet; she slipped out and smiled as he gallantly opened a towel for her. Wrapping her wet body in the towel and his arms he pulled her in tight and kissed her good morning; she closed her eyes and tilted her head slapping his cheek with her wet hair as she embraced the kiss with a passion.

"Good morning." He greeted as they separated.

"Ah could get used tah this." She admitted with a wistful sigh; the guilt struck her lover then and once again thoughts of leaving Earth nine twenty-nine behind along with Rogue clouded his inner vision.

"Well I'd better get cleaned up; the others haven't met Amy yet and they might intimidate her." He stated slipping into the shower and turning the water back on; Rogue looked like she wanted to say something further, but instead chose to leave it for now.

"Ah'll see yah downstairs lover." She returned allowing the towel to fall to the floor now that she was dry; Al felt something gnawing at the pit of his stomach, but swiftly banished it with happy thoughts.

"Of course my lotus blossom." He called back ignoring the corniness of his words; grabbing the new soap he began to whistle to himself an old familiar tune as he let the water pound into him and wake him up fully, and also banish any further pangs of regret or guilt that might choose to rear their ugly heads. He washed himself as quickly and thoroughly as possible and was done before he finished the song; drying himself off he raked a finger through his short cropped hair to straighten it out. Getting dressed while he made the bed up was easy when you've got extra long fingers in your wrist; he was eager to find out just how the others, absent from last night, would feel towards his precious daughter and so once all was done he slipped from the room and made his way downstairs practically running.

* * *

Amy was mixing up some raw beef with sliced ham in the frying pan when I got downstairs; I felt lost when I saw that, she'd learned to prepare her own meals in the three and a half months since last we were together.

"I'm seeing it and I still don't believe it." Kimber observed staring in fascination at the Catarian.

"She's cute." Aja spoke up smiling when she caught sight of me; I got my own breakfast and a plate and glass for Amy, which I set beside me.

"How does she keep her hair that color?" Roxy wondered as Amy finished flavoring up her meal and transported it over to the plate.

"It's natural." I replied with a small smile as we began to eat; Stormer's face soured when she saw the blood red meat being ingested by the child.

"Now I'm jealous." Roxy returned resuming her own meal as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"So, what are everybody's plans for today?" I asked as Jerrica and Shana finally joined the group; Jerrica smiled slightly as she saw Amy beside me, she knew how much this alone meant to me.

"We've got a CD to make and Roxy is going with Shana to try and convince the Hex Girls to sign their new contract with us." Jerrica replied; I nearly choked when I heard the name, but covered up my surprise with a carefully crafted neutral expression.

"So it's just Stormer, me, Rogue and the girls until she leaves then?" I repeated for my own benefit wondering if I might stumble upon a blue and green van one of these days with a big great dane riding around in it.

"Actually I have a meeting with an attorney at one; the executor of the Gabor estates." Stormer corrected with a sad sign and a frown.

"Oh joy; alone with twelve girls again." I sighed overreacting slightly.

"You've still got Syn." Roxy pointed out; Amy glanced up at that with a frown unable to place the name with anyone else in the house most likely.

"Oh; you mean Synergy?" She asked out loud; I really choked this time and had to catch my breath before I could address the stares aimed my way.

"Sweetie that was our little secret remember." I stated looking to Amy with a semi-stern expression.

"You just showed her…" Jerrica began trailing off with the amount of anger she was feeling towards me for going over her head like that and breaking her secret.

"Jerrica." I began softly. "My daughter is telepathic, she would have found out the second you tried to introduce yourself as Jem." I countered logically. "Despite her blurting it out just now she's also quite capable of keeping a secret, but sometimes she has a problem with remembering to speak internally." I added pointedly glaring at the young girl.

"I'm sorry Daddy, but I forgot." She explained lowering her head in shame.

"Then perhaps I shouldn't have let you meet her." I countered sitting up straighter now and openly expressing my displeasure with her.

"Please Daddy; I didn't mean to." Amy returned close to tears, my heart ached, but I had to be stalwart this was the first time I was ever going to wind up punishing her outright and I had to be firm with my resolve.

"I know and I'm sorry I have to do this; please believe me on that, but you aren't allowed to use the gym or practice any of your gymnastics for the next three days." I stated with a barely perceptible sigh; I really hated the disciplinary nature of parenthood, but it was a necessity some days.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Kimber wondered in sympathy as Amy began to silently cry; the pain was clear in my expression, but I shook my head.

"Secrets are meant to be kept; I really don't want to turn into the monster here, but she must be shown that there are consequences involved infinitely harsher then a mere lack of leisurely activities could possibly imply." I replied adopting larger words out of habit as I finished breakfast and took our empty plates to the sink; Amy let out a sad sigh and rushed to my side burying her face in my stomach. Our pain was shared and magnified within via the telepathic bond and I lightly hefted her into my arms so she could finish her tears in a more convenient location.

"I understand Daddy." She hiccoughed through the tears. "All the other kids get punished when they do something bad." She added; I held her close and shook my head.

"Oh no Amy; don't ever think you did something bad, you're mind just isn't used to all this and I suppose I'm partially to blame for showing off something that wasn't mine to begin with… It's just; Syn and I shared minds and I wanted her to meet you first, I suppose all the excitement over meeting your new friends made you forget that I asked you not to tell anyone, you see the girls don't know and can't know… Though I'm not sure why." I said glancing briefly at Jerrica with a hint of confusion on my face. "Please understand Daddy didn't punish you because you were bad and disobeyed him, he did it to show you that there are much larger consequences out there." I finished explaining openly crying myself now.

"Oh Daddy; I understand and I promise you can trust me again." Amy said picking up on some of my unsaid thoughts a solemn expression on her tiny face; I sighed in obvious relief, she didn't hate me and that was the best news I could hope for.

"Am I really forbidden?" She asked innocently; I chuckled and shook my head as I embraced her all the more tighter.

"Oh little one you were never forbidden; it's only temporary I know how much you love to leap around, but if you promise me you'll behave and accept your punishment I'll make it up to you." I said; the rest of the women around us seemed to be curiously silent, perhaps engrossed in this little melodrama unfolding before their very eyes, or maybe Jerrica was just too angry to trust herself to say something.

"I promise." Amy said.

"Then all is forgiven." I stated in a hushed tone. "You do forgive me right?" I asked nuzzling her cheek and tickling her tummy; she giggled out loud and shook her head.

"I love you Daddy, no matter what." She returned to a chorus of awwws from the Starlighters.

"You remind me so much of my own father." Kimber exclaimed rushing over and giving me a hug without warning; Amy giggled and eyed the grown woman with a knowing smile.

"Man talk about over dramatic." Roxy muttered cleaning off her dishes; I shot her a pointed stare, but then turned back to Amy.

"Any suggestions on what we as a group can do?" I wondered with a thoughtful expression.

"I don't know Daddy; I'm not used to playing with others." She admitted with a shrug. "_And we don't have any holodecks._" She added telepathically; I nodded in agreement and began to consider all options.

"Why don't you ask the girls?" Aja asked; I sighed and took a seat Amy in my lap, Kimber looked a little embarrassed over her earlier remark and so she took this opportunity to leave.

"That's what I'm afraid of." I replied with a sheepish grin.

"The girls don't bite." Shana reminded with a grin of her own.

"True, but the last time we had nothing to do the girls asked me if I could fly them around…" I revealed trailing off as I looked down at Amy.

"We sort of have some plans though." Lela called out as she entered the kitchen. "We made them last night."

"Not more shopping." I exclaimed fearfully.

"No; we were all interested in visiting Nancy, but we know that's not really feasible. So we settled on letting you do something with Amy; and we'll stand by it." Lela explained. "We all know you've been apart for so long and all." I was left speechless at that; I didn't think the girls would give up their leisure time just so I could be with Amy more, I felt a few tears of joy escape and smiled at Lela.

"Thank you." I stated.

"Daddy you're crying again." Amy pointed out with a frown.

"Tears of joy." I explained with a genuine smile of warmth.

"So what are we gonna do?" She asked bouncing on my knee and turning to hop down.

"I don't know, what do you wanna do?" I retorted in a completely different toned voice.

"I don't know… Hey, now don't start that again." She shot back with a hearty laugh; I burst into a fit of giggles, a rather odd sight to the Starlighters and literally fell out of my chair.

"You remembered." I exclaimed with another warm smile as I picked her up and nuzzled her nose with mine before letting her go again; someone cleared their throat at that moment and I glanced up to see Rio standing in the doorway leading out back.

"Sorry to interrupt this touching scene, but we have to get to work." He said the smile still spread across his features; Jerrica nodded and the band members all quickly prepared to leave, Aja going to fetch Kimber.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Amy." She said upon their quick return giving the young girl a quick and surprising hug.

"I'll be here all week." She reminded with a giggle.

"I know, I just wanted to hug you now though." Kimber returned with a laugh of her own.

"Outrageous!" I exclaimed taking the group by surprise. "And that was out loud." I noted with a shamefaced expression; the others laughed and quickly took their leave, soon only Rogue, Stormer and I were left, adult wise.

"Ah think Ah'll go throw a load on or two before Ah go." Rogue spoke up climbing to her feet.

"And I'll handle these left over dishes." Stormer added pointedly beginning to fill the sink with soap and water. "You spend some quality time with Amy." She added pushing me away from the sink when I tried to help; I shrugged and headed off with Amy and Lela to find the rest of the girls, although we were still back at square one concerning the days activities.

* * *

Nancy awoke later then she'd intended and rushed through her morning routine; when she got downstairs she ate breakfast alone and quickly moved outside to once again practice harnessing her gift. The Professor said she was doing quite well, but she knew he was concerned about her dogged determination and complete focus on the soul task of mastering her gift.  
But she had work to do if she was ever going to return home to her friends and the people she loved; whom she'd grown distant from since her gift first manifested, and for which she was eternally guilty about. Launching a stream of water from her right index finger she began her control and targeting exercises yet again.

* * *

The Autobot known as Hound was searching yet again; without authorization from Prime, but he couldn't get that male human from his mind. The way his knowledge of the Decepticons and Autobots had come so easily, or his perfect imitation of Soundwave and Rumble; it was uncommon amongst those humans who the Autobots had met. Turning the corner on Hollywood and Vine he once again turned his scanners on high searching for any sign of the van; or even one of the young female offspring he'd been transporting.

* * *

I sat near the edge of the pool in my new swim trunks enjoying the early morning warmth; Amy was laughing and frolicking with some of the other girls, Lela, Becky and Delaree were sunbathing nearby today was the perfect day to just lounge around. Plus it was the only thing I could think of; Disneyland might have been a good idea, but I didn't really have that kind of money and I wanted to save the video I took of the concert for later.

"Would you stop checking him out; he's like so much older then you." Becky hissed at Lela in a soft tone; I happened to hear her though thanks to my audios, but chose to ignore it, hormones weren't only a male thing after all.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise." Rogue observed coming up behind me and running her eyes over me appreciatively. "Ah approve." She added in a sultry whisper; I chuckled and placed my book aside glancing up at her with a genuine smile.

"I was unaware I needed your approval." I teased good naturedly; Rogue grinned slightly and slid onto my lap wrapping her arms around my neck. She kissed me openly and pressed her body into mine; I relished our closeness and ignored the giggling girls watching this display.Rogue pulled away and stood up; I caught the sudden wistfulness in her expression, but she was quick to hide it.

"Ah should get back tah the laundry." She remarked.

"Must you?" I wondered desiring strongly just to be together.

"Ah can't ignore it." She returned with a gentle smile; I nodded in understanding and leaned back in my recliner once again.

"I'll see you before you go?" I wondered openly speaking my inner thoughts and fears, she smiled fondly.

"Of course Sugah." She replied giving me a quick farewell kiss and returning to the house; I let out a small sigh and picked up my book intending to read some more.

"He's just too distracting; I think I'll try and call Fredrico and see what he's doing." Lela muttered getting out of her own seat and heading for the house.

"Like she so needs to dump that prick." Becky complained.

"Daddy!" Amy called alerting me to a sudden slight change of plans. "Watch me dive, please!" She called once more; I looked up to the diving board placing my book aside once more and watched as she somersaulted off, flying through the air and collided with the water in a perfect swan dive. I clapped when she surfaced and she beamed with pride; then I settled back down for some more light reading. Amy's annoyance with my disinterest was plain as the nose on my face; with a small sigh I returned the bookmark to keep my place and slowly climbed to my feet as if I was going to get a drink.  
Amy felt guilty now and tried to say something, but it was too late; I flew from my position into the pool so fast it took the swimming girls by surprise along as the sunbathers, a giant wave of water sprang up assisted by my special gifts and I plunged headfirst. Despite the natural urge to panic; I seemed to be more willing and collected around Amy, she grounded me with her telepathic bond and managed to bury my fears; though not outright destroy or dispel them. Surfacing I let the water pour off of me and slightly used my powers to expel it from my face faster; Amy swam up to me with a smile and splashed me with her tail. Becky and Delaree looked extremely irate considering I'd just soaked them; I blocked the water Amy splashed at me with a dense gravity shield and splashed her back with a laugh.

"I thought you didn't know how to swim?" Ba Nee asked also coming up beside me.

"Well I do actually know how; I've got a computer for a brain remember, which means I'm filled with loads of knowledge, but I just don't like to swim because I never really learned how to use that knowledge practically." I explained. "That and I'm totally scared of dunking my head." I added with a brief shudder while Amy seemed to vanish; suddenly she hopped out of the pool behind me and landed on my back.

"Ha, ha I've got you Daddy." She exclaimed wrapping her arms around me and tickling my back with her tail; I laughed and grabbed her from behind pulling her around so I could look her in the eyes.

"Who has who?" I asked in my aristocratic tone; Amy squirmed a little and giggled, then she hit me with a compressed spray of water, she was learning how to use her powers while we played, which is something I encouraged. I retaliated with a rainbow of water; the other girl's ooohed and ahed as the sunlight sparkled from the rainbow creating a genuine rainbow.

"How do you do that?" Terri wondered treading water next to us.

"It's really quite simple actually; all water has trace particles of metallic elements, so we have the power to control the flow of the water by using our magnetic…" I began to explain trailing off as I realized I was talking in the plural, meaning there was two of us; Amy fidgeted slightly as she too realized that I'd almost blabbed something.

"Then, you could help Nancy!" Marianne exclaimed hopefully ignoring the fact that I hadn't finished with the lesson.

"No." I returned with a shake of my head and a sigh of regret. "Our powers are not the same; she has control over the element of water, I can merely redirect it with cheap parlor tricks." I elaborated. "So to speak." I finished with an apologetic shrug; Stormer came outside at that moment and waved to get my attention, levitating out of the pool and expelling the water from my person I landed beside her, she was understandably surprised. "What's up?" I asked raking my fingers through my hair; swimming was actually less time consuming when you didn't have to waste time toweling off or drying off for that matter.

"Someone's here to see you." She replied her tone indicated extreme confusion; instead of asking her who I simply re-entered the house figuring it had to be important because no one would come here if it wasn't. I was surprised then when I got to the front door and found Video with Clash standing in the entranceway; Video looked at her wits end and Clash was barely conscious, she should have taken her to a hospital if she was over intoxicated.

"Video what's wrong?" I demanded moving to assist her in getting Clash inside.

"I've got a meeting and don't have time to babysit this self-destructive cousin of mine." She replied with a glare directed at Clash. "I'd take her to the police station so she could sleep this off, but she's hurting inside and they couldn't help her." She added with a sigh.

"I should start charging for taking in stray Misfits." I muttered hauling Clash along.

"You are one hot guy." Clash murmured falling slightly; I sighed, could this get any more soap operaish?

"I'll see what I can do; she's really taking this hard." I observed with a slight shake of her head Video beckoned me back to the entrance; I followed after getting Clash settled on the couch.

"She loved Pizzazz; literally, but she never let on to any of them. Only Stormer was Bi, Pizzazz and Roxy always had some spineless toady that they'd use up and discard when they couldn't get some anymore." She explained in a whisper; I nodded in understanding and shook my head briefly.

"Some people can't see what they have for the spotlights in front of them." I stated sagely; Video sighed and made to leave, turning back her anger was replaced with concern.

"You'll be alright; she'll be alright?" She wondered in a very worried tone; something I hadn't expected from Video, the cousins didn't exactly get along after all.

"No problem; I know how to handle these kinds of things." I returned with a friendly smile; Video sighed one more time and thanked me once again with a brief uncertain hug before heading out.

"Got any beer around here?" Clash asked from the doorway to the living room; I whirled to face her with a slight frown and narrowed eyes.

"I'm afraid not." I replied as delicately as I could; she frowned then and tried to get to the kitchen to see for herself only to collide with Rogue.

"Ah think yah need this Sugah." She stated handing me the medical tricorder; I nodded and flipped the device open, then began to scan Clash's blood alcohol levels.

"Wow; you're one hot babe you know that?" Clash asked eyeing Rogue with genuine lust in her drunken eyes; the X-Man blushed slightly and shook her head.

"Sorry Sug; Ah'm taken." She said moving to stand beside me and giving me a kiss; Clash sighed.

"Yeah; well if you ever change your preferences look me up." She returned stumbling on to the kitchen; only to stop mid-way there as she realized she didn't know where it was, she'd never been inside that portion of Starlight Mansion before.  
It was a good thing I incorporated a miniature replicator into the tricorder for medical purposes; it produced two capsules and I approached Clash, she swayed on her feet and Rogue grabbed the young woman by her arms to help steady her. I forced Clash to swallow the pills; it wasn't exactly very polite of me, but it was necessary she was a few pints short of alcohol blood poisoning. The twenty-fourth century remedy was fast acting and in less then a minute Clash was clear headed and sober once more; she took in her surroundings with a wistful sigh.  
"I better go." She whispered moving to leave; I shook my head and grabbed her by the arm, though gently.

"Video told us to watch out for you." I stated firmly. "And I for one don't skimp out on a promise." I added.

"I don't want or deserve your help." Clash countered vehemently. "Now let me go before I hit you." She added with a curse.

"You're not leaving even if I have to tie you to a chair." I snapped back; Clash glared at me, but I remained adamant. Eventually she slumped dejectedly just as Stormer came in a look of concern on her face for her friend.

"I'll get her cleaned up and into some new clothes." She whispered taking Clash delicately by the hand; Clash sighed, but followed her friend. I slumped into a seat and let out a heavy sigh of my own.

"This couldn't be more complicated if it involved David Hasslehoff and some kind of scandal." I moaned making a slight joke at my own expense. "But at least I don't have to worry about Decepticons anymore." I added with a small smile.

"Better get back outside Sugah." Rogue reminded; I nodded and headed back out to keep an eye on the girls once more and lose my slight emotional distaste by having fun with Amy some more.

* * *

"Hound; hey Hound buddy Optimus wants a field report." The voice of Jazz suddenly cut in startling Hound from his search; the Autobot naturist pulled to a stop at a red light and switched on his communicator.

"What for? The Decepticons have been quiet for days and we know exactly where they are for the most part." He returned grateful that there weren't many humans around at this junction who might notice the lack of perfect skin tone with his human driver facsimile, his holographic systems were a little out of phase for some reason.

"That's why he's insisting on regular reports while we plan the proper counter attack." Jazz reminded. "So, any Decepticon shenanigans in your area?" He asked in an official capacity.

"Not a blip on my radar." Hound replied turning off onto the side street and resuming his search; not for Decepticons, but for the human male that intrigued him so much.

"Well keep alert; and try to come back in more often, Prime's gettin' edgy." Jazz returned before severing the communication; Hound would have shrugged or perhaps nodded at that in indifference, but since he was in vehicle mode he simply flashed his headlights annoyedly and continued driving.

* * *

"We'd like you to try something different today." Hank informed as he joined Nancy and the Professor in the training area. "We want to see how much water you're capable of holding in your person." He explained preparing some monitoring equipment in one corner of the room.

"What?" Nancy asked tilting her head in confusion.

"I believe what Hank means; is that he is interested in seeing how much water your body can absorb." The Professor explained; Nancy nodded and closed her eyes, the water set aside for her benefit began to stir. It began to whirl around her body in a great vortex as she slowly began to draw the water into her person; it had been quite a surprise for her when she realized that she could do this, but a lot of surprises had cropped up during the practice sessions.  
The water began to accumulate; she felt her body swelling a little as the water flowed within, she opened her eyes and mouth gasping as the new sensations filled her. She could hear the roars of the oceans, the pitter patter of a light shower, a monsoon even a water spout far off in the middle of the ocean. It was a strange thing to be able to hear the element of water all across the globe; when she felt she could hold no more she stopped, Hank approached with one of the Shi'ar devices and began to scan her.

"Amazing; her entire body is filled with the liquid, she has enough Hydrogen Oxide to fill a moderately sized lake." He informed his eyes shining with wonderment; it was always fascinating to study a new mutation.

"It's too much." Nancy gasped; the water began to expel itself, through her arms or tendrils of water and water missiles that rained across the room from her fingertips. Once she felt that she could handle things once more she was quick to regain control; she looked apologetically at Hank. "Sorry." She muttered in a low tone; Hank smiled warmly at the child.

"Think nothing of it child, I needed a bath." He quipped non chalantly before heading back to his equipment.

"Your mental focus is coming along quite well Nancy; I suggest we stop for today and you can rest." The Professor stated rolling along towards the exit.

"But…" She began to protest; then sighed and lowered her head in accordance. "Of course, I think I'll watch some T-V." She stated following the older man out of the specially designed room, still she really wanted to get total control; and sooner rather then later.

* * *

I dried off and called Amy in; it was time for lunch and unfortunately with Stormer and Rogue leaving soon after I'd be stuck watching twelve girls and a highly depressed Clash alone. A most daunting task indeed; Amy shook her hair out and began to groom her tail, something that looked a little odd to me to this day still. We headed in and the girls left to get changed; Rogue was fixing sandwiches for everyone and Stormer was setting up some veggie platters.

"No dip?" Ashley asked as she walked by snatching a couple of carrots.

"None that we could find." Stormer returned sneaking a celery stalk herself.

"Any chips?" I asked; Rogue eyed me sourly and I shrugged. "I always have'em with sandwiches." I supplied beginning to rummage around in the cupboards; Amy shook her head and left us, as I kept searching I stumbled onto a few possible dinners for the girls. Clash walked in wearing one of Stormer's outfits, she looked rather embarrassed about everything; I carefully avoided the subject and finally produced a bag of Ruffles all dressed flavored chips of all things. With a slightly exaggerated whoop of joy I produced a bowl for them and slit the bag open.

"You shouldn't eat those; they're Shana's secret stash." Delaree pointed out; I shrugged as I dumped them in the bowl.

"I'll pay her back." I returned snagging a ham and cheese sandwich from the plate and plopped down; I'd brought a spare pair of pants outside to put on over the swim trunks so I didn't need to change fully just yet. My tendrils opened the fridge and selected two cans of pop; one for me and one for Amy, Clash's eyes bugged out when she saw them and I smiled kindly.

"I want egg salad please." Terri called as she returned fully clothed; Stormer handed the girl her selection and smiled.

"Do you have salami?" Marianne asked Rogue deftly snatched one selection and passed it to the girl; the rest grabbed their own choices and some drinks and joined me at the table. Anne snuck some of my chips as she moved to sit down; Amy returned and nervously picked up her specially prepared lamp chop sandwich. She hadn't eaten in front of the other girls yet; Ba Nee shot her an encouraging look and Amy took a bite, mindful of the blood so as not to waste any.

"What are we doing this afternoon?" Krissie wondered turning to me; I sighed as I shot a look towards Clash's back, but a promise was a promise.

"I thought I'd let you girls stay in and do something quiet or whatever; while Amy and I, ah, enjoy each others' company." I replied carefully keeping any hint of my emotions towards what I really had to do.

"You don't need to babysit me." Clash mumbled nibbling a little at her lunch.

"Slag and you know it." I shot back feeling slight frustration rising; Clash eyed me confusedly.

"Language Daddy." Amy pointedly reminded absently taking another bite.

"It's ok, they don't get the reference.' I returned with a slight smile; then I looked back to Clash with a hint of understanding, concern and genuine helpfulness. "Something tells me you need to let it out Constance; you've been drowning yourself in cheap booze, that's not the answer." I added mindful of my words, my tone and the others present.

"And why should you care?" She demanded angrily; she obviously didn't want any help, or maybe she just did and didn't know how to express herself properly. "You're some stranger; a fan of Jem and the Holograms, you have no love for us Misfits; or give one damn about Pizzazz." She elaborated in a raised bitter tone; I let out a small sigh of pity and lowered my head.

"You have no right to talk to my Daddy that way!" Amy shot back glaring at Clash; I shot her a look of disappointment and she too lowered her head in shame.

"None of you truly know me." I began softly. "Not even Jem knows everything; so do yourself a favor and listen." I added rising to my feet; I strode towards the exit pausing to grasp Clash by the arm and bring her with me; revealing this to the girls wasn't a very good idea, and it would be easier to console the Misfit in private.

"Let go you muscle bound ape." She growled as I led her over to the tennis courts and paused halfway there when I was confident we were out of earshot and eyesight.

"Look, Clash you can't let yourself waste away like this; Phyllis wouldn't want it." I stated releasing the woman. "I didn't want to bring this up in front of the girls, but… You shouldn't feel bad about what might have been; I know you're doing this because you never told Pizzazz how you felt." I stated daring her to deny it with my gaze; her face fell and she turned to look out at the sprawling landscape.

"I was going to that afternoon, but then Roxy called me with that impassioned…" She trailed off as she broke down into sobs; I smiled sympathetically, normally I wouldn't be so open. Becoming Amy's father and everything I'd shared with the Delaneys' and even Samantha had made me even more perceptible to inner demons of this sort; my innate sense of decency and desire to help people who were hurting made me an even better friend for those who I hadn't even met or called friend before this moment. I moved to comfort her, but she shied away; she wasn't ready for that kind of comfort just yet and yet I'd offered it knowing the gesture was appreciated.

"Life never goes as we plan; do you think I wanted to be mutated like this?" I asked with a small flinch of remembered pain. "As long as we keep going, live life to the fullest and cherish our memories, we can overcome anything; it's the human spirit." I added with a smile. "That is our greatest trait; don't let your grief consume you as it does those who never manage to pick themselves up after a fall like this." She looked at me like I was some kind of fool or maybe a dreamer and I shook my head with a laugh knowing what was to come next.

"You can't be for real." She stated taking a step back out of confusion and pain.

"Of course I'm for real Constance; I just keep that spoon full of sugar close to my heart, hopelessly optimistic that's me." I returned with a great laugh as the expression on her face changed yet again and suddenly she began to laugh alongside me.

"I suppose I was going about grieving the wrong way." She admitted with a sad sigh; I shook my head.

"The family I grew up with… Well let's just say my Aunt was a little like you, always drinking away life's problems or doing something else." I revealed averting my gaze with remembered pain. "That's why I agreed to watch out for you for Video; I know what it's like for her, drinking never solved anything and I don't want her to go through what my cousin did when her mom…" I trailed off leaving the rest unsaid.

"Yeah; I wasn't even that much of a drinker until now." She paused thoughtfully. "I suppose I should apologize to her."

"It would help." I encouraged with a small smile.

"Why are you so concerned about us?" She asked curiously. "You don't even know us." She pointed out.

"You'd be surprised what I know." I returned with a smirk and a wink; she shook her head and returned to the kitchen to finish up lunch, I waited a little before speaking to the other. "Enjoy the floor show?" I asked in slight annoyance.

"Typical human emotional responses; I can see that kind of stuff anywhere and it doesn't always have a happy ending." Q replied snootily as he emerged from behind the tree. "You're good at that." He observed with a small chuckle.

"Proximity sensors come in real handy; just another thing I owe you for I guess." I returned with a chuckle of my own. "What do you want?" I demanded fearing his response; he produced a small piece of paper that looked suspiciously like a contract.

"I had a little chat with General Flagg and that Fury character; this agreement means they can't interfere with you this entire week." He replied adopting a serious tone for a change; I took the paper from him and perused it, I recognized every name except one. "I believe you know him better as Snake Eyes." He offered; I let out a gasp at that, nobody on my Earth knew his real name, it was always bloody Classified. "I thought you'd like to hold on to this."

"Good idea." I returned with a sly smile. "You'd probably lose it." I quipped rolling it up and secreting it into my rear pants pocket.

"I am appalled at that insinuation." Q shot back standing straighter as if his dignity was hurt; then he adopted another serious expression. "There's also the matter of this Energon thing, you're still at full power and restless." He pointed out; I sighed and made a fist staring at it as if I could see through my skin, to the nanoprobes beneath.

"I know, I know; I'll get in touch with the Autobots if the situation doesn't change." I assured preparing to head back inside.

"Just so you know that Autobot; Hound I believe, is searching for you. He's most curious." He informed before snapping his fingers and flashing out; I shook my head and returned to lunch, my luck the girls would have finished off all the chips by now.

* * *

Nancy sat gloomily on the couch alone when suddenly a man appeared; he just arrived out of thin air, one minute he wasn't there the next he was like Mister Wagner only without the smell. And he was wearing a very odd set of clothes; it was a red and black jumpsuit with gold pips on the shoulder, kind of like something out of Star Trek.

"Who are you?" She asked fearfully.

"Oh merely a friend." The man replied a smile plastered on his face. "I just came to give you a hand, sort of a jumpstart if you will." He elaborated.

"No thank you, Jerrica told me never to accept gifts from strangers." She returned climbing to her feet and leaving the den.

"If you insist, but heed my advice; be careful what you wish for." He called out before disappearing; Nancy shuddered, that man had creeped her out, but she didn't think she should tell anyone just yet. Better to wait until Rogue or Al got back; they might know who the stranger was.

* * *

Stormer sat uncomfortably in her plain clothes suit; she'd taken the color out of her hair and left the stage make-up off, running her hand through her plain light brown hair she nervously eyed the clock. Not many people knew that she was a natural brunette; she and Craig had been in love with music for so long they'd sort of adopted the blue tones they used as their natural hair color and considered the brunette to be the dyed color, of course anyone who got her into bed would know the truth when they saw her pubic hair. Shaking aside these thoughts she wondered what was taking so long; the lawyer came out just that minute with a look of sympathy on his face he glanced around in confusion.

"Miss Phillips, you are aware that all the Misfits were required to be here?" He asked politely though there was something off in his tone.

"Yes, I know, but Clash really wasn't in the mood to come and Roxy…" She trailed off with a shrug as if to say, you know Roxy, as she climbed to her feet to shake the man's hand.

"I see, they've given you permission to represent them then." He stated warningly; Stormer produced the document they'd all been handed, signed by Roxy and Clash.

"Hello luv." A voice called out suddenly; Stormer glanced over to the entrance, her eyes lit up with a smile.

"Hello Jetta, it's been a long time." She greeted with a small sigh.

"Such a shame it's under these circumstances." The British woman returned wrapping Stormer in a hug; the lawyer gave them a moment as he filed the document Stormer had given him. "How you holdin' up luv?" She asked looking into her friends eyes.

"Ok, we've been staying with Jerrica." Stormer replied moving to take a seat in the office proper; Jetta quirked her eyebrow in surprise as she too took her seat.

"I wouldn't have expected that." She admitted; Stormer shrugged and tried to get comfortable.

"Well ladies I won't take up any more of your time then necessary." The lawyer began getting out a few thick envelopes. "As you are doubtlessly aware the Gabor estates have no further heirs; thus the inheritance reverts to the beneficiaries of Ms. Gabor's will." He explained flipping through several pages.

"Now hold up luv, are you tellin' us that the Misfits are the beneficiaries?" Jetta demanded leaning forward and eyeing the man critically.

"Uh." He flustered his eyes flitting from Jetta's expression, her fully ample cleavage and the papers on his desk in rapid succession. "That is essentially correct; all of its holdings and assets revert to you four, to be shared equally." He finally revealed making a show of clearing his throat as he straightened the papers on his desk.

"No." Stormer gasped retreating into her seat. "I don't want to deal with that kind of responsibility." She exclaimed fearfully.

"Relax luv, you wouldn't be dealing with it alone." Jetta countered trying to calm her friend.

"But, what do we know about business?" She demanded glaring at her friend with a wave of her hand. "We were musicians."

"That's what advisors are for." Jetta returned in a gentle tone.

"I, I still don't think I could handle this." Stormer admitted with a shake of her head.

"We should all discuss this luv, take the time to fully come to grips with everything." Jetta suggested; Stormer calmed down slightly at that and nodded.

"Can we do that?" She asked the lawyer.

"Of course." He replied with a smile. "In fact I insist." He added eyeing Jetta's cleavage once more. "We'll need all four signatures to finalize certain things." He quickly covered up his indiscretion and both women climbed to their feet.

"Naturally." Jetta cooed shaking the man's hand. "We'll be back before the end of the week I suspect." She informed.

"All four of us." Stormer added with a feeble smile before she too took his hand and made her departure.

"Come on luv; I'll treat you to some coffee before we return to Starlight Mansion." Jetta offered as they entered the elevator.

"That would be nice." Stormer returned with a smile; after the two vanished two other individuals emerged from the private offices.

"I trust that…" The first began.

"You won't have any problems convincing them…" The second continued.

"To hire our financial advisory services." The two said in unison; the unnamed lawyer shook his head with a smile.

"No troubles at all gentlemen." He assured.

"Excellent, we shall return…" The second began.

"At weeks end." The first concluded before both men took their leave; the lawyer nodded to each in turn and moved back to his desk, sitting down he began to go over the carefully crafted contract a small smile spreading across his lips.

* * *

Al tossed the ball across the pitchers mound and straight to home plate, but Krissie managed to beat it there; with a cry of Safe, the Starlight Sluggers cheered. Terri pouted a little while Anne shot their team captain a dirty look.

"If you used your mutant powers." She began; Terri shook her head.

"It wouldn't be fair." She stated.

"Besides we're having fun." Lela countered; Anne smiled and laughed slightly.

"Yeah I suppose, I never thought Clash would be playing with us though." She called out; Clash shot the girl a sour look before she burst out laughing, she was definitely feeling in high spirits now.

"Yeah, well; I couldn't let this hunk of a man take care of all twelve of ya impressionable little brats by himself." She pointed out; Lela shook her head, Clash may have gotten less self-destructive and more pro-active as part of the team, but she still needed to work on her attitude.

"Ok, how many points does that make?" Delaree asked turning to the resident scorekeeper; Al chuckled and ran quick calculations with his impressive intellect.

"The Starlight Sluggers have fifteen and the Marauding Decepticons have thirteen." He replied; Anne groaned as the girls got back to their positions.

"Why'd we let him pick the name again?" She asked of no one in particular.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Deidre replied with a laugh and a shrug; Al rolled his eyes and waited patiently for the next pitch from his position on first, Becky was on the pitcher's mound this inning. Marianne swung and missed, strike one; the second pitch went wide, ball one, Al was growing a little bored with the game actually, but wouldn't call it off unless the girls wanted to. Marianne hit the third pitch and got to second base before Becky could recover the ball; Joellen made her way to home plate and claimed the bat.

"Hey look; Stormer's back." Ba Nee called out causing them to halt the game play for a second time; Clash's eyes widened in shock as a two thousand and three Jaguar pulled up alongside the Starlight Express and a new woman climbed out. Al failed to recognize the black haired beauty, but she must have been a Misfit because she certainly wasn't a Hologram the way she was dressed.

"Jetta!" Clash cried running up to the woman and giving her a hug, which surprised the other former Misfit.

"Hello luv." Jetta returned with a light chuckle; Al decided to wait for them to approach, it made sense to him for this woman to introduce herself to him, though the name rang a bell. "Well now Stormer, you didn't tell me a stud was stayin' here." She added as the trio gathered nearby; Jetta sashayed up to Al who merely chuckled and shook his head.

"Sorry Jetta, I'm spoken for." He stated; she sighed and backed away, acting less aggressive then the young man might have thought considering how many times he saw practically every member of the band try their hardest to snag someone who was already taken on the show.

"Isn't that always the case?" She wondered with a slight laugh; her cockney accent really brought a smile to Al's lips, he happened to have a friend back home who was British.

"Allan Rutherford, but you can call me Al." He introduced shaking the woman's hand.

"A pleasure to meet you luv." She returned with a smile; Clash sighed and shook her head.

"What brings you here?" She asked; Jetta eyed Stormer slightly with a small frown, but her expression swiftly changed into a warm smile.

"That'll keep until Roxy and the others get back, so tell me; can anybody join in on this game or what?" She wondered smiling warmly and ruffling Terri's hair; Al hadn't noticed she'd joined them during the conversation.

"No problem." Clash replied.

"Yeah, the more the merrier, besides Clash and Al are on the same team." Ba Nee stated with an exaggerated pout; Stormer chuckled and headed off to the dugout of the Sluggers.

"Great, so let's play ball luv." Jetta insisted; the group made their way back into the outfield and the game resumed, Al still had a little trouble seeing the Misfits acting so nice, but the death of their friend and band leader must have really opened their eyes, and some people in life could change.

* * *

Hound watched the humans playing baseball; now that he knew where the man lived he could discuss things with him later, no need to interrupt his fun with the children. He smiled inside to himself as he watched the man play with the children; the older women were also enjoying themselves, it made Hound appreciate that not all people were plagued by war and suffering thanks to the Decepticons.

"Better get going before Prime sends someone to check up on me." He muttered to himself pulling out of the entrance to the long driveway and heading for the highway, the Decepticons still had to be dealt with over at Gabor's oil platforms after all.

* * *

Rogue flew over the state of Las Vegas on her way back to New York; she smiled with fond remembrance of the farewell kiss Al had given her; a pity she had to leave him, but she had promised Jerrica she'd look out for Nancy. With a sigh of regret at having to leave Al even for only six more days, she resumed her flight home knowing that it was worth it; she loved him deeply and he reciprocated that love, at last she knew what she'd been missing out on all this time. Now if only she could feel truly ready to take the next step; being a thirty-three year old virgin wasn't really very fun after all and her libido was starting to drive her crazy, still she was glad she looked so good for a thirty-three year old even though she'd never admit her age to anyone.

* * *

I took a seat in the kitchen and let out a tired, content sigh; it was fun playing with the girls and having Amy with me made it ten times more enjoyable. Stormer, Clash and Jetta began to examine the contents of the fridge; I eyed them curiously, who'd ever guess that Misfits would help prepare meals for Holograms?

"Are we really going to cook dinner for Jerrica and the Holograms?" Clash wondered incredulously.

"You got a problem with being helpful luv?" Jetta countered with a knowing smile.

"Hey now, I'm supposed to be helping out too." I chimed in climbing back to my feet and beginning to gather some bowls and other assorted utensils.

"Haven't you done enough for one day?" Stormer wondered with a smile of her own; I shook my head and smiled back as I snatched a can of pop and summoned a potato peeler to my hand.

"Well you're just full of surprises luv." Jetta observed with a grin; I chuckled and set to work peeling some potatoes.

"You didn't think my daughter was the only mutant?" I asked taking a brief sip; Jetta chuckled with a shake of her head, I called a pot to the counter so I'd have a place to put the potatoes and passed the bowl to Stormer.

"So what are we having with that?" Clash wondered eyeing the contents of the fridge.

"I seem to recall seeing some chicken in here." Stormer replied rummaging around for the meat in question; I continued my task in silence while Clash began to cut up some vegetables for a salad and Jetta smiled as she found some old fashioned shake and bake in the pantry.

"Who said being rich means you need to have fancy meals every day?" She asked playfully as she joined Stormer in the hunt for chicken.

"That's what the Starlight Girls used to get me to stick around." I revealed with a chuckle. "Jerrica always did fancy stuff until I arrived." I added with a hearty laugh popping another potato into the pot.

"I can imagine luv." Jetta returned pulling the chicken out of the fridge at last.

"Daddy can I help?" Amy asked coming into the kitchen; I shook my head with a smile.

"That's ok little one, we can manage; why don't you go run along and play." I replied taking a moment to ruffle her hair once more; she giggled and wrapped me up in a hug.

"Thank you Daddy." She burbled happily before dashing off.

"I think she likes being around all these others; she's getting to interact with girls her own age." Stormer observed as she shook up a piece of chicken; I nodded in agreement and smiled yet again, a contagious display of emotion if you ask me I couldn't help myself from smiling more and more these days and thoughts of the Red Skull had at last lost their harsh and guilt ridden edge.

"Yeah, she'll make some friends here; which is a good thing I suppose." I admitted with a sigh. "I just wish… Ah; it doesn't matter, it's not til Sunday or next Monday anyway." I retracted with a shake of my head and resumed my task; it went by fairly quick actually, I just had to make sure there'd be enough for everyone.

"I don't believe it." A new voice spoke up startling us; all eyes turned to see Video standing in the kitchen entrance, one of the girls must have let her in the front door without us hearing it. "Constance you look…" She trailed off when Clash looked at her tears welling up in her eyes; it was something Video obviously wasn't used to.

"I am so sorry with how I've been acting cous'." She exclaimed wrapping her cousin in a hug; taken by surprise Video awkwardly returned the gesture a slight smile spreading across her features.

"It's nice to know one day away from me and you can overcome your problems." She quipped good naturedly.

"And it's Clash." Clash shot back slamming her wrists together as if her trademark cymbals were still there.

"I never did like that name." I spoke up causing all the women to eye me curiously. "Too generic, not to mention it sounds like one of the Dreadnoks might use it." I elaborated with a shrug.

"I don't think so luv." Jetta countered with a shake of her head. "Rumble or Buzzer maybe, but not Clash."

"Rumble's a Decepticon." I automatically shot back; once again all eyes were on me.

"You certainly know a lot about the Decepticons." Stormer observed mischievously; I shrugged and continued potato peeling.

"Comes with the job description." I quipped mentally turning the oven on for the chicken and activating the element all with a tiny display of magnetic manipulation.

"So have you been using that camera?" Video asked; I shook my head with a laugh.

"Most assuredly; though not recently." I replied rubbing my forehead suddenly at a small strange throbbing sensation; I quirked an eyebrow and placed the chicken in the oven now that it was ready, Stormer shooting me a pouty look for practically taking over the cooking.

"You sure this'll be enough for everybody luv?" Jetta asked passing me the second tray, which she'd been preparing. "If Video, Clash, Rio and myself are stayin' for dinner." She added trailing off and leaving the rest unspoken.

"Relax Jetta, we'll have enough." I returned taking the third tray of chicken and managing to fit it in ah the joys of industrial sized ovens; I groaned a little and rubbed my head again, something was giving me a headache.

"Are you ok?" Video asked noticing my odd behavior; I shook my head in an attempt to clear it and groaned louder, perhaps the Energon was finally affecting me. Without warning I burst into a fit of giggles and the truth of the matter became all too clear, I took a few deep breaths and centered myself.

"Amy must be having a really good time; I'm picking up on her feelings and they tend to screw around with my own emotional center, she must have opened up our telepathic link further." I explained with a warm smile; the Misfits and Video eyed me in surprise.

"You're telepathic too?" Clash asked nervously.

"Nah; Amy is, she's got this fear of being alone even in her own mind so she created a telepathic bond between us, but she's kept it pretty much closed since getting here." I explained. "She must be wanting some comfort just a little; there are still eleven girls in this house and she's not used to so many." I added with a light chuckle.

"Must be hard." Video began. "Never to have any privacy." She elaborated.

"Amy knows to let me have some daddy time." I returned moving to place the pot of potatoes on the stove.

"I sure hope Jerrica and the others get back before dinner get's done." Stormer remarked straightening up the kitchen.

"I think I'll give her a call, get the chance to inform her about our new guests." I stated heading off to speak with Jerrica through Synergy; it definitely paid to have a holographic generating computer as a friend.

* * *

"Why hello there Nancy, how have yah been?" Rogue asked as she greeted the Starlight girl; Nancy smiled and hugged the woman though she was still a little bit shy about it.

"Great; Professor X says I'm coming along at a faster pace then he expected." She replied with an eager glint in her eyes. "So how are the others?" She asked expectantly.

"Just fine little sug; they all wanted to come see yah." Rogue replied happily. "Maybe they'll get tah visit later in the week." She added with a smile; Nancy sighed a little, but put on a brave face and headed for the practice area.

"I'm going to master this ability no matter what." She stated; Rogue grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her head at the girl.

"Don't overdo it sugah; it's almost dinner time, yah can train some more tonight." She attempted to convince her to stop; Nancy sighed and reluctantly nodded.

"I suppose you're right; I have been feeling a little overtaxed lately." She admitted; Rogue smiled and gave the child a quick hug remembering what it was like for her when she just started out and fell in with the wrong crowd.

"Come on sugah; you can help me unpack." She offered; Nancy smiled broadly at the suggestion, she quickly grabbed the duffle bag that Rogue had dropped by the door only to fail at even budging it. "Sorry." Rogue laughed picking the bag up easily. "Ah tend tah pack a lot, so only Ah can ever pick it up." She apologized; Nancy let out a laugh.

"That's ok." She returned with a smile. "So how's Al?" She asked slyly giggling at the blush on Rogue's cheeks; the two made their way upstairs and continued their little conversation.

* * *

I smiled contentedly as Amy curled up in my lap; it was just after dinner and everyone was still pretty much here, even Rio. Amy whined a tiny whine and nuzzled my nearest hand; I let out a small sigh and began to stroke her hair, the purrs came naturally seconds later and I felt the stares upon us.

"So Al how was the day?" Rio asked trying to avoid the subject he probably wanted to talk about, I shrugged.

"Uneventful for the most part, although the Starlight Sluggers sure creamed us at baseball." I replied with a good natured laugh.

"Well luv you could have easily won yourself if you used your powers." Jetta pointed out; I shook my head at that in slight exasperation.

"And spoil the girls fun, where's the honor in that?" I asked in a playful tone; Jerrica shushed Rio when he rolled his eyes and Kimber giggled a little at the chivalrous tone in my voice.

"Any big plans for tomorrow?" Shana wondered; I shrugged in response at that and shifted positions slightly.

"Not really, at least I'm not the only one looking out for the girls, but it's still quite the handful." I admitted.

"Could we go see a movie Daddy?" Amy piped up. "You've told me so much about them and I'd really like to." She added her tone hopeful.

"Uh, I don't know about tomorrow; I suppose it depends on what there is to see." I replied with a second shrug. "You know your old man has quite picky tastes." I added with a chuckle.

"And you have to pick something all the girls would enjoy." Aja added pointedly; I sighed at that and slightly shook my head.

"I'll have to use my holo-watch." Amy observed with a sigh of her own now. "Why must people always fear those who are different?" She wondered yet again, her words echoing an earlier, similar question.

"Humans are notoriously close minded at times; much like the Borg, whatever does not fir their definition of perfection is most often a target. For destruction or simple prejudice." I replied openly using a reference to those I knew to truly exist without fear of questions; the others had come to know me a tad better by now, so I knew it was ok to mention the Borg I'd just sound like a geek to them.

"That's kinda deep." Clash observed popping her bubble gum. "And I don't think I appreciate you insinuations."

"You'll have to forgive me, but after everything we've been through." I paused and let my tendrils flick out slightly with a weary sigh. "I tend to get a little heavy handed and overly logical at times."

"Totally understandable luv." Jetta returned shooting me a winning smile. "After I separated from the Misfits I was a little lost for a time; until I met this woman by the name of Betsy Braddock." She added with a fond smile; I eyed her thoughtfully at that, it was something I didn't know about her. Then again I knew very little about the bands lives before coming here; I didn't even know what happened to the Stingers exactly.

"Say shouldn't we be discussing what that lawyer wanted?" Roxy suddenly blurted turning to Stormer and Jetta. "Not that I care really, but I don't think Jerrica wants three more house guests for the night." She added climbing to her feet; Jetta nodded in accordance and joined her former band mate.

"If you need some perspective on things I'd be happy to help." Jerrica called as the four of them made their way to somewhere private.

"We appreciate that." Stormer graciously returned with a small smile.

"Yeah, we'll call you if we need you luv." Jetta added ushering the others out; I sat back shifting positions a second time as the room quieted a bit. The Starlight girls usually did their own thing after dinner since it was often the quietest time in the day; I felt a sudden pang as I realized that Rogue wouldn't be with me tonight, but quickly pushed it aside.

"Daddy I'm still concerned about that Energon." Amy spoke up breaking the silence yet again.

"You and about everybody else I know." I muttered in annoyance too low for the others to hear. "Hound was here earlier; he's been curious about me and my knowledge ever since we met briefly last Monday." I revealed forgetting that Video didn't know about all that. "If my energy levels don't go down in another day or two I'll talk with him." I assured squeezing Amy in a hug. "But remember Energon is highly concentrated, if I had to guess I'd say a single cube could most likely power half the continent for ten years. Although I'm probably being a tad too generous as it stands with my calculations." I admitted with a slight shrug.

"Just how do you know so much about them?" Aja demanded for the third or possibly fourth time.

"Look I can't tell you that, you'd never believe me." I replied with a deep sigh.

"Try us." Rio dared; I rolled my eyes heavenward praying for something, anything to interrupt us right that moment.

"Curiosity killed the cat." Amy recited with a solemn shake of her head; her expression was rather comical, especially the way her cat-like eyes always shone with inner curiosity in their own right.

"And we promised not to pry." Kimber reminded shooting a glare at her friends; Aja sighed while Shana lowered her head even though she hadn't said anything.

"We know." Aja admitted. "It get's frustrating though when he starts acting like a know it all." She added with the barest hint of a smirk.

"How do you think he feels?" Video wondered surprising everyone by speaking up in my defense. "Do you think he enjoys lying to you and keeping things from us?" I eyed the woman in clear astonishment and Amy smiled gratefully at her; the others all seemed to be on the same wavelength as they nodded in accordance or simply shot me a sympathetic look in the case of Jerrica and Kimber. They had to keep secrets of their own after all even from Video; I chuckled then and shook my head dispersing the seriousness of the mood permeating the rooms' atmosphere.

"I really couldn't have picked a better place to take this sorely sought after vacation." I stated matter of factly.

"That goes without saying." Jerrica agreed with a warm smile. "We're all happy to have gotten to meet and know you." She added eliciting a blush.

"Rogue left then?" Kimber asked sounding a little disappointed.

"Yeah." I replied a wistful sigh escaping my lips; Kimber smiled at the way Amy patted my shoulder to comfort me.

"You'll get to see her again Daddy." She stated with a giggle. "I love to see you happy." She repeated nuzzling into my slow mellifluous stroking of her hair.

"That's because you're a little match maker." I teased tickling her ribs with my free hand; she giggled loudly and squirmed on my lap, and then without warning her claws burst forth and she screamed in sudden pain. I clasped my forehead in agony and hollered myself; and yet a great pride seemed to fill me, Amy was crying as the blood pooled around her fingertips and dripped onto the floor. I hugged her to alleviate her pain and comfort her; we hadn't expected this so soon, Welernya said Catarian's don't develop their claws until they turn fifteen.

"It hurts so much." She wailed. "Matriarch never said it would hurt this much."

"There, there little one; we always knew they'd be coming." I soothed massaging the girl's fingers; her wounds were already healing and the blood was becoming less then a trickle.

"Whose Matriarch?" Shana wondered recovering from her own surprise quickly enough.

"Nobody." I returned continuing to massage my precious daughters' fingers; it had to be the nanoprobes speeding up their development, but why was a mystery I'd probably never know the answer to. Amy being only three now since I'd missed her birthday; a fact she'd told me earlier that morning, wasn't really mentally prepared for them just yet.

"_You'll have to get Q to bring you to Eternia when you return; Matriarch and Couriach can teach you to use them so they don't hurt._" I thought to her knowing her telepathic link was now open enough for internal communications without Amy needing to start them off; she choked back the last of her sobs and nodded.

"Sing for me Daddy." She requested out loud curling up tighter to me and managing to return the claws to their resting place.

"Uh…" I stammered feeling my cheeks growing hot slightly as all eyes were now on me; I wasn't exactly used to singing out loud for an audience, but I could never deny my daughter when she got this upset, partly because of our telepathic link making me want to cheer myself up too. Aja and Shana were both trying hard not to laugh; they didn't expect I could sing so good most likely considering my apparent reluctance, well if they thought I couldn't carry a note then boy were they in for a big surprise.  
"Come stop your crying it will be alright; just take my hand, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you; I will be here, don't you cry." I began plucking the song from memories familiar and happy. "For one so small, you seem so strong my arms will hold you; keep you safe and warm this bond between us, can't be broken; I will be here don't you cry. 'Cause you'll be in my heart, you'll be in my heart from this day on; now and forever more." I continued closing my arms and gently stroking Amy's hair filling her with all my love as I sung to her amidst the silence of the room despite our observers. "Why can't they understand the way we feel; they just don't trust what they can't explain, I don't see the different but deep inside us we're not that different at all… You'll be in my heart; yes you'll be in my heart from this day on; now and forever more… You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say you'll be right here in my heart always." I sang my voice rising with the amount of love and conviction I was pouring into my singing.  
"Don't listen to them 'cause what do they know; we need each other to have, to hold. They'll see in time, I know; we'll show them together… 'Cause you'll be in my heart, you'll be in my heart; from this day on now and forevermore. You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say; you'll be right here in my heart always… Just look over your shoulder… Just look over your shoulder… Just look over your shoulder… I'll be there always." I finished semi-losing the beat as I failed to grasp the entirety of the song from recollection; Amy smiled happily and nuzzled my chest briefly as I finished the last of the song and her tail wrapped around my waist, I smiled and leaned back relaxing completely as I kept on stroking her hair.

"I don't believe it." Aja blurted. "You're great."

"Great; he's outrageous!" Kimber exclaimed forgetting herself momentarily; I laughed at that and cracked an eyebrow.

"What do you expect? With the power to alter my vocal circuits I can achieve perfect pitch." I returned with another smile. "I can even duplicate others." I added in perfect imitation of Jem; Kimber laughed out loud at the silliness of the sight of a grown man speaking in a woman's voice.

"You must be great around parties." Rio quipped resulting in a playful punch from Jerrica.

"Very funny; you know I could reprogram your computer to lock you out and only play it's a small world." I shot back my threat coming off as serious as I could muster with Amy's growing drowsiness affecting me.

"You wouldn't dare." Jerrica intervened feigning genuine fear.

"You obviously don't know me that well." I stated with a laugh; Video laughed along with Shana and Aja at Jerrica's expense though she smiled accepting the joke for what it was.

"I know someone who does." Kimber spoke up. "Should we ask her?" She wondered slyly.

"Amy doesn't gossip." I retorted with a wave of dismissal; Amy did not react to my words though and I glanced down in surprise a warm smile spreading across my lips as I saw that my little one had fallen asleep in my lap. "She must have tuckered herself out." I observed glancing briefly at my watch noting the early hour. "Not used to so much activity with other children." I added with a soft sigh and a quiet ruffle of her hair.

"Ah; so that's where the purring was coming from." Video observed with a smile; Aja reached past me and gently ruffled the child's hair herself.

"You should put her to bed." She suggested glancing up at me.

"Indeed." I returned climbing to my feet and gently cradling Amy in my arms; I turned to leave nearly colliding with Anne.

"Can I help?" She asked sounding a little upset about something; I wondered briefly how long she'd been there and whether or not she'd heard my little solo act, but dismissed it with a wry smirk.

"I don't really need it, but I'd be grateful for some company." I replied with a very light chuckle; Anne smiled gratefully and followed me from the room.

To Be Continued; **Hound's found Al, Uh Oh. Crooked lawyers working with a certain crimson duo to trick the Misfits into hiring their services, what ever could they be up to? And isn't Al especially cutsie when he's around Amy? But what exactly is going to happen next, and why did Q see Nancy? You'll just have to wait and see until next time, Same Starlight Time, Same Starlight Channel.**


	13. Chapter 13 Cobra Plots, Decepticon Plans

**Author's Notes:** A pleasure to hear from all my readers; or at least some of them, since all of them could number in the hundreds... Anyway here is the next exciting chapter, it should prove most entertaining; we carry on from where we left off in the last chapter... I can't remember, but I think it's still Monday of the second week, although it could be Tuesday... Unless I mentioned the name of the weekday in the chapter I tend to forget what day I'm on. Chuckles And so on with the show... Or... We now return to Jem and the Holograms. LOL

* * *

"We're all supposed to assume control of Gabor's business deals?" Roxy repeated incredulously; she was standing at the moment, but not for much longer. Clash moved to catch her as she stumbled backwards in total shock; she'd just been told that she was now a multi-millionaire much like when she'd won the lottery that one time, but now she wouldn't squander it away like the fool she'd been back then.

"I know, it's a big deal." Stormer sympathized; Clash shot Stormer an annoyed look.

"That doesn't begin to cover it, what do we know about running… How many businesses did he own anyway?" She wondered uncertain about the answer herself.

"Too many to count." Roxy replied with a grimace. "I suppose we could sell a couple to other companies." She muttered.

"I don't even want to accept." Stormer countered with a snap. "I'm not a business woman and I never plan to become one, I'm no good with numbers and legal junk." She added with a slight shudder.

"We have to accept it luv, at least to sell the businesses off; otherwise they'll be fought over like mad and a lot of good people could lose their jobs." Jetta countered with a sigh; Stormer shook her head in annoyance and began to pace, Roxy shot her a glare to no avail and Clash let out a sigh.

"Maybe we should consult Jerrica; she runs a business of her own and might be able to give us some perspective." She suggested; Stormer ceased her pacing and pursed her lips in thought.

"That's a good idea." She admitted moving to leave the room.

* * *

"You and Deidre have a fight?" Al asked as he headed up the stairs with Amy in his arms; Anne shook her head with a sigh.

"We're still tight and all, but she's been a little touchy the past few days." She replied; Al shook his head and tried not to laugh.

"Well you're still young." He returned smiling when Amy mumbled in her sleep and shifted in his grip. "She's probably just dealing with things from when Reflector showed up or something." He added in an attempt to cheer her up; Anne shook her head and shot him a smile.

"Thanks Al, most adults I know would freak out if they discovered about us and how close we are." She commented with a grateful smile; the young man shrugged and shot her a smile.

"Ours not to reason why." He remarked with a wink as they reached his and Amy's room; Anne giggled and opened the door for him, she turned the light on as he made his way over to Amy's bed. With a proud smile he placed the child on her bed and covered her up with her little comforter. "Sleep well my little one; tomorrow is another day." He whispered gently brushing her hair from her sleeping face and kissing her forehead briefly.

* * *

"That is a rather large undertaking." Jerrica concurred as I returned to find the Misfits back and looking far too serious for my liking; Stormer was apparently highly upset over what she'd just told the others, I took a seat next to Shana careful so as not to draw attention to myself and cleared my throat.

"What's up?" I wondered in a helpful sounding tone.

"None of your business." Roxy snapped taking me aback.

"Roxy; maybe he can help." Clash pointed out. "I mean he's a walking computer." She added; I shrugged leaning back and resting my hands behind my head.

"Worth a try, so shoot." I returned with a friendly helpful grin.

"We've inherited the Gabor holdings luv." Jetta explained. "But we're not exactly interested in runnin' the businesses." She elaborated; I chuckled loudly taking them by surprise and slipped out my wallet, producing a card I'd been given a long time ago or so it seemed.

"No problem, I'll call Tony Stark tomorrow and see if he can help, he is highly business oriented after all." I offered with a warm smile; they eyed me incredulously." What?"

"You know Tony Stark?" Stormer asked emphasizing her words.

"Well I do live in New York, and I have fought beside Iron-Man a few times." I returned grinning like a school boy; the Misfits partially surrounded me and shot me grateful smiles in return, Jetta even gave me a kiss on the cheek and I began to feel uncomfortable the looks they were giving me.

"You're full of surprises luv." She observed with a giggle; I shrugged and let my body relax the tension caused by their stares melting away instantly.

"What can I say; I'm more than meets the eye." I quipped enjoying my private little joke.

* * *

Nancy finished her letter with a satisfactory smile and slid it into the envelope; Marianne would be pleased, now the hard part was figuring out what she should do for the rest of the night. The Professor wouldn't let her train, at least not with her powers; however that didn't mean she couldn't work on her mental disciplines, but where could she practice her martial arts?

"Hey Nancy what's up?" Jubilee asked coming up behind the girl with a friendly smile; Nancy shrugged.

"Nothing." She replied sticking the stamp on the envelope and sealing it shut.

"Doesn't look like nothing." Jubilee observed taking a seat across from the younger child; she hadn't had the chance to talk with her yet, and part of her wanted to help her out in this most trying of times. "You know we've been through what you're going through." She pointed out gently uncertain of how she should begin; Nancy nodded with a sad sigh.

"I know, but I don't think you understand." She whispered barely audible to the older Asian girl. "So, do you know a place around here where a girl can practice her martial arts?" She asked with a friendly smile; Jubilee didn't know how to take that, but she nodded as she climbed to her feet.

"I think I know of a place." She replied with a thoughtful expression on her features.

* * *

Q paced back and forth in the Starlight Citadel's observation room; Saturnyne and Roma were close at hand watching him slightly, two crystals lay broken and dark on the carpeted floor their universes destroyed by the ultimate chaos leaking slowly out of Earth Nine Twenty-Nine's crystal.

"Should we keep him away for the next six days?" He wondered no longer sounding like his former self; he had made a promise, but he was beginning to grow concerned.

"We promised him a reprieve; besides he could do no good at Xavier's just yet." Roma replied sagely; for she knew that Al would still be needed in part to help the Misfits and that he also had need to consult the Autobots soon.

"I'm not worried about Earth Nine Twenty-Nine." Q countered vehemently heedlessly crushing the broken and dead crystal in his hand. "It's Earth Prime I'm concerned about; the danger there grows with each passing second and he should have completed his training by now." He elaborated.

"You forget, time stands still on Earth Prime while he is within the Omniverse." Saturnyne spoke up haughtily. "I hardly think God would not foresee and calculate the length of time allotted to him." She added.

"Not for the Hell dimension." Q shot back in annoyance not bothering to address her slight barb at his own competence. "Though they can not gather more souls, they still might learn of the deception in our removing this current Chosen from Earth Prime for training purposes, and if they have ample opportunity to prepare Earth Prime could fall, and when it falls so too does the Omniverse proper." He reminded smugly.

"You exaggerate." Saturnyne dismissed with an almost sneer of contempt on her lips; Q hid a crafty smile, sometimes manipulating Saturnyne proved more fun then it should.

"We must all remain calm." Roma stated before Q could rebuff the Majestrixs' remark; she plucked the Earth Nine Twenty-Nine crystal from the wall and replaced it in the viewer, with such a powerful soul as Alain present on the Earth she could see it again clearly. "We must have faith in the young man and grant him this semi-reprieve." She added in a stately tone. "Besides I would not dream of interfering with his visit with young Amy; they will be separated enough as it is until all is set right once more."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that." Q spoke up his eyes lighting up with his mischievous smile; this was what he'd been waiting for, Roma quirked her eyebrow with interest and proceeded to take a seat in her throne-like chair, Q smiled and began his spiel.

* * *

I awoke with a start at the happy giggle and the sudden weight on my chest; Amy sat over me grooming her tail, her eyes lit up when she saw I was awake and I grinned despite the early hour.

"Good morning Daddy." She greeted squeezing me in a quick hug; I chuckled lightly and stretched, glancing to my watch I saw I was still at one hundred percent power. "Daddy you never seem to use your armor." Amy pointed out.

"Of course not sweetie, for one thing I don't need to while I'm on vacation; and I only really made it to prove to myself that I could." I returned slipping into the bathroom to clean up; as I ran through the daily routine I contemplated everything that would happen today. "_First we eat breakfast, then phone Tony, and then check the movie listings and maybe start on those earrings for Syn… Oh right and I better not forget that I wanted to call up Witwicky's garage to see if he might have those parts for Xavier's cars._"

"_Daddy, should I wear the skirt or the outfit you replicated for me for the first day I met Matriarch?"_ She wondered inside my head interrupting my thoughts; it was good to feel her again, once you developed a strong emotional link like our telepathic bond it was hard to go on without it, you tended to feel empty when it wasn't there.

"Why not try the jeans?" I asked aloud finishing up my quick shower and drying off with a simple gravitational burst.

"_I want to look pretty; jeans are for older girls with lovely figures._" She replied with a mental pout, which kind of feels like a soft rainfall or a gentle breeze; it's hard to describe just how telepathic facial expressions are conveyed.

"Then go with the skirt." I sighed doing my best to keep my emotional response from her; I didn't want her to feel obligated in wearing something she didn't want to just to please me. I left the bathroom and quickly got dressed; Amy giggled as she twirled showing off her selection, I smiled to show my approval and modeled my own selection exaggerating my body movements. She giggled at my actions and pounced into my arms; then she gave me a peck on the cheek and nuzzled into my neck.

"I love you Daddy." She whispered.

"And I you little one." I returned with a warm smile and a kiss on her forehead; together we made our way downstairs for breakfast.

* * *

"Nancy get up there's a phone call for you." Logan called in his gruff voice; Nancy stirred and mumbled something into her pillow and promptly fell back asleep, a minute later Logan shoved her out of bed. She winced as her tail bone slammed into the floor and let out a moan.

"All right, all right, geeze I thought you were supposed to be all gentle and stuff." She complained climbing to her feet.

"Think of it as boot camp." Logan returned with a light chuckle before he headed out; Nancy stumbled sleepily into the hallway and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She called stifling the urge to yawn.

"Hey Nan." Marianne's voice answered sounding suddenly happier. "How're things?" She asked nervously twirling the phone cord with her finger.

"Exhausting, I'm coming along nicely, but I still have to wear this stupid collar when I sleep." She replied tugging at the mutant inhibitor collar; Marianne squirmed a little at that and put on a brave face, despite the fact she couldn't be seen.

"We've all got to meet Amy; ah, Mister Rutherford's daughter, she's great fun." Marianne revealed struggling to find something to talk about, Nancy smiled wistfully and sat down in one of the ornately carved chairs.

"I know you're nervous about me, and a little afraid, but it's still the same Nancy you know. The same girl you grew up with, your friend." She stated in a low tone; Marianne felt tears trickling down her cheeks.

"You're not, you're going through these changes and… And when it's done you won't be the same old Nancy, you're personality might change, but you'll have, I mean…" Marianne couldn't speak; she'd always been great friends with Nancy, they'd done everything together, but now her best friend was changing on a molecular level and she wasn't sure if she could handle it.

"Marie." Nancy began unsure how to handle this; she was also crying.

"I can't deal right now Nan; I'm sorry." Marianne choked out before she hung up the phone; Nancy stood listening to the dial tone for a few minutes just crying; then she slammed the receiver down and ran back to her room shoving past Jubilee and Logan coming back down the hall to get her for breakfast.

"Hey Nancy." Jubilee called worriedly; Logan grasped Jubilee's shoulder and shook his head, he'd heard the last part of the conversation due to his being halfway down the hall and his overprotective side kind of made him listen in.

"Leave her be Jubes." He whispered; Nancy fell onto her bed crying in pain and anger; she grabbed the letter she hadn't mailed yet and tore it apart, then she let her head fall into her arms and wept bitterly. All of that hard work she'd been doing to get back to her family and friends; and her best friend was harboring feelings like that, well… Life stunk.

* * *

As Al looked over the newspaper film listings he distinctly heard the sound of sobbing; curiously he looked up just in time to catch Marianne racing past the entrance to the living room.

"Hey!" He called out concernedly; climbing to his feet he followed after the girl as quickly as he dared no sense in running wildly after her if she didn't want to be seen. He found her however relatively quickly; she was sitting on the hall steps waiting, bawling openly big sloppy tears and yet she'd waited for him when she heard him cry out because she needed to talk to someone.  
"What's wrong?" He asked gently taking a seat next to the girl; she wiped her eyes with her hands and looked up at the man, she hadn't really talked to him before now, but she didn't feel like going to Jerrica or one of the others with this.

"I was talking to Nancy on the phone." She began haltingly as she fought to keep her calm. "I said some things that I was feeling inside… I, I told her I didn't know what was going to happen between us because of her… Changes." She stopped there and resumed bawling taking Al completely by surprise as she buried her face into his shoulder, which was the closest body part at the moment.

"You hurt her feelings." He surmised. "Though you didn't mean to; and yet you are uncertain what to expect from your friend." He added in a sage like whisper; she pulled away to look up at him and he smiled slightly. "Those who knew me before my change shared similar feelings; it is human nature to fear change; especially when things have been a certain way for most of your life." He revealed kindness and compassion filling his tone; Marianne nodded in agreement and sniffled a little.

"How do I apologize to Nancy?" She wondered fearfully. "Will she even talk to me again?" She asked her face crest fallen at the thought of ruining such a great friendship.

"Time heals all wounds; you should call her back and apologize, but only when you're ready and you should give her a bit of time to get over the pain of this supposed betrayal." He replied knowingly before climbing back to his feet and returning to the living room; Marianne sobbed slightly a little more and followed after him, as he sat down and resumed glancing at the paper she crawled up next to him and leaned against his shoulder, he didn't say a word he just let her stay there to finish shedding her tears.

* * *

Stormer led the quartet into Fred Smith's office promptly upon opening; the lawyer was very pleased to see them especially Jetta who was wearing a low cut top that left little to the imagination; he was quick to fetch the papers.

"I'm glad you made up your mind so quickly, may I also say it's a pleasure to see you so early." He greeted handing the pen to Jetta; she smiled sweetly and promptly signed her full name.

"If anybody in the newspapers gets a copy of my name I'll sue your ass so fast you won't be sitting down for the rest of your life." Roxy threatened as she signed; Smith merely smiled charmingly and waited patiently for Clash to finish signing.

"Now if you need any assistance." He began as Stormer hastily signed.

"That won't be necessary, we have counsel already." Roxy stated leading the group from the room; Fred's face fell as the Misfits vanished and his true bosses entered the room, he did not question how they knew the women would be here today.

"How unfortunate; they failed." The first began.

"To read the fine print closely enough." The second concluded smiling darkly as he snatched up the primary copy of the legal documents.

"But, that still won't hold up in court." Fred countered in a weak tone; both men glared at him and the first proceeded to remove a small pistol from beneath his suit jacket.

"What does it matter, we have ways around the courts." He stated confidently pointing the silencer tipped weapon at his loyal servant.

"Unfortunately we suspect there has been a leak somewhere in our LA branch and you will have to be replaced with someone other then one of the Fred series." The second informed emotionlessly as though discussing the replacement of a muffler on his limousine out front.

"All hail Cobra." Fred recited before he was systematically executed; several dozen suit clad men rushed in accompanied by a central figure who chose to remain in shadow.

"We shall bring in the replacement once the files and all other pertinent data has been cleared up; do try to be swift about it." The twins said in unison; the shadowed man nodded a brief smile playing across his lips, Tomax and Xamot then proceeded to leave the offices of the late great Fred Smith, in truth one of their notorious Crimson Guardsmen confident that the saboteur and their fellow soldiers could finish handling the clean up.

* * *

Al let out an exasperated sigh and flung his hands to the heavens as the girls continued to argue for the film of their choice; it was getting them nowhere and Al was beginning to wonder how Jerrica and the others ever got them to agree on anything if that stupid rule was to be believed.

"I want to see a romantic comedy." Delaree repeated for the millionth time; Becky shook her head almost immediately after the proclamation had been made.

"We saw one last time, action, all the way." She retorted sticking out her tongue rather childishly for a fourteen year old.

"I've always wanted to see a Fantastic Four movie." Joellen spoke up timidly; Al was a little curious himself, super hero movies weren't the same in this universe.

"Those movies are all a bunch of hype." Anne returned solemnly.

"Not enough lift." Al muttered shaking his head in annoyance; the girls had stopped paying attention to him so he could get away with saying anything, it really didn't matter.

"Johnny Depp all the way." Lela called out. "He's a dream boat." She added with a happy sigh.

"I don't want to see a movie about pirates." Terri countered trying to sound brave and coming off a little fearful.

"Can't we just see different movies?" Marianne wondered her tone still gloomy from earlier.

"You know the rule." Ba Nee countered with a sigh. "Until we're older we can't see movies by ourselves; especially after what happened last week." She pointed out.

"This is getting us nowhere." Krissie spoke up; Deidre sighed and took a seat opposite the young girl.

"It's hopeless trying to argue." She told her; Krissie nodded and looked at Al who had slumped onto the couch sometime earlier when the discussion, so to speak, turned to arguing.

"Al looks like he's going to explode." Ashley whispered leaning in from her seat so the others couldn't hear her; they were all too busy arguing about movies anyway, and Amy looked positively distraught as she kept glancing between the girls and her father.

"He wouldn't yell at us, would he?" Deidre wondered in a hushed tone.

"One, two, three." Al was whispering to himself trying to calm his quickly fraying nerves; Amy knew her father could get pretty emotional when their link was open, but this time his ire was caused by the inability to compromise, he loved each of these girls differently and was grateful for them for helping him to deal with the Red Skull incident, but raising eleven girls alone did have it's downside.

"Guys maybe we should let Al decide." Lela called out suddenly picking up on his current emotional state; silence fell over everyone and all eyes turned to the lone adult in their group, who happened to have started muttering to himself.

"How does Jerrica do this; it ain't exactly easy, how in the world did I get talked into this again and where in the name of Cybertron is Q when you really need him, I mean a catastrophe would sure come in handy…" He trailed off as he seemed to realize that the girls were now listening to his every word; he groaned and slapped his forehead in semi-comical fashion. "Whoops." He muttered.

"Daddy, how many times do I have to warn you about making up stories instead of paying attention." Amy chastised wagging her finger at her father; he smiled warmly at her actions and chuckled beneath his breath.

"_Thanks._" He told her mentally. "Ok; I think we all could use a good escape movie, something that doesn't take itself too seriously. And after seeing all those previews for the pirate movie… I really want to see it." He admitted thoughtfully stroking his chin; the girls all eyed him expectantly pointedly ignoring his odd ramblings from before, his eyes twinkled with hidden amusement, it was August two thousand and three on this Earth, where it had been September that same year his Earth so he'd already seen Pirates of the Caribbean and seeing it again would be rather fun especially with Amy and all the others.

"Daddy just likes Disney." Amy whispered conspiratorially to the rest of the girls; Al chuckled and ruffled her hair playfully, it was time to make the decision final.

"Shall we see the pirate movie then?" He asked his little one.

"I just want to see a movie." Amy admitted. "But I do want to see a fun movie that has nothing to do with reality." She added with a weary sigh; as if the real world was just too much for her.

"Then the pirate movie it is." Al stated finally making his decision. "And don't worry Terri; I don't think it'll be too scary." He added for the benefit of the child. "And I promise the next time we'll see something else, remember I've still got five more days to plan out." He reminded with a big wink; this alone seemed to placate the rest of the Starlight girls un-interested in the pirate movie and so the group began to get ready to leave.

* * *

Nancy was still sitting gloomily on her bed when the Professor called her for training; she ignored the call no longer in the mood to train. Professor Xavier picked up on this bad mood and her memories of the phone conversation were as clear as a bell; he chose not to interfere and left her to grieve, knowing she needed to get over this in her own time. How could Marianne be so cruel? How could she say those things; even think them, Nancy knew she wouldn't change, she was still going to be the same person she'd always been inside.  
Much to her surprise Logan showed up about fifteen minutes later with a late lunch; she hadn't realized what time it was.

"Listen; I know ya don't want to hear this right now kid, but your friend didn't mean what she said." He explained in as gentle a tone as Logan ever got; Nancy looked up in fear.

"You heard all that?" She demanded her emotions getting the better of her.

"Nah, but I can guess." He returned a low growl escaping his lips; he offered one of his rare smiles before turning to leave. "Things'll get better, she'll get straightened out by Al, I'd bet he's already had a talk with her about it." He added his tone laced with a certain respect for the Technorganic, Multiverse traveling Borg.

"I." Nancy began only to fall back into a sorrowful silence as she considered his words. "Thanks." She whispered taking the lunch tray and moving over to her dresser; Logan grunted in acknowledgement and left her in peace to eat, the kid had a lot to get over and he wasn't about to push her any more then Chuck was willing to.

* * *

"Man; parking around here sucks." Al grumbled finally finding a spot for the Starlight Express; Amy sighed as she examined her face in the rearview mirror for the twentieth time.

"I really hate hiding behind this façade." She muttered fidgeting with her skirt slightly to keep herself busy and not touch her cheeks to make sure she was still herself.

"I know sweetie." Al stated gently patting her shoulder as he unbuckled for her. "But it's necessary." He reminded unbuckling his own seatbelt and switching off the ignition; he smirked to himself as he thought about all the times he'd been driving the girls around of late, and he'd never really driven too much back home or indeed had a driver's license, he hadn't liked to drive back then and hadn't had any friends that he'd need a car to visit. Everyone got out of the large van and rushed for the theatre entrance; flipping open his wallet Al made sure he had enough small sized bills for the concession stand and the tickets, some places frowned upon hundred dollar bills.

* * *

The Misfits received quite a shock when they got back to Starlight Mansion; not only was Tony Stark waiting to meet with them, but another fellow with reddish toned hair and tinted sunglasses, they didn't recognize him because they didn't really pay attention to that kind of news, but this was Matt Murdoch attorney at law.

"Ms. Phillips, a pleasure to meet you." Tony greeted lightly kissing the back of Stormer's hand; Stormer gushed slightly while the others formally introduced themselves, there was just something about Stark that made you want to have his babies.

"Al must be in real tight with you if you're here already." Roxy observed impressively.

"Not exactly, but we do have an understanding." Tony corrected with a warm smile. "And once I heard you were interested in putting old Harvey's holdings up for sale, well…" He trailed off with a wave of his hand.

"First things first Tony; I insist on hearing the terms of their inheritance." Matt stated firmly; Stark nodded and turned leading the Misfits into the living room, he'd been let in by Al just as he'd been leaving for the movies so he at least knew where that was.

"Of course Matt; if one of you would be so kind to read that aloud." He requested indicating the copy of the document in Clash's hand.

"Sure thing luv." Jetta returned plucking the paper from Clash's hand and unfurling it; she began to read loudly and clearly looking clearly confused by some of the terms that passed her lips, Matt nodded along as he listened until she reached a certain paragraph.

"Wait a minute; read that last part back to me again." He requested; Jetta smiled and cleared her throat happy to be of service, both men were real lookers after all.

"Forthwith; the signees hereby agree to run all future business dealings through the financial consultants of Extensive Enterprises, counter signatures are located below indicating the acceptance of these consultants as to the terms indicated in paragraph nine section three of this document." She recited; after reading it for a third time to herself something clicked inside and she glared angrily at the document in her hand.

"Hold up, you mean any business transactions have to be okayed by these financial consultants?" Roxy demanded snatching the document from Jetta's hands and also surprisingly seeming to understand what had just been said.

"Essentially, yes." Matt replied with a sigh.

"I don't remember agreeing to that." Stormer stated grabbing the document for herself.

"I don't even remember meeting any financial consultants." Clash added confusedly; Matt sat up straighter at that and seemed to eye the women, though it was hard to tell with his sunglasses on.

"Do you mean to tell me that you never once had a meeting with these men?" He demanded searching for clarification.

"You got it luv." Jetta replied with a nod.

"Then you signed that without fully being made aware of all the terms or agreeing to them." Matt mused beginning to pace now. "The question is why would these financial consultants need to maneuver themselves in such a manner?" He wondered aloud.

"Perhaps if we knew who they were." Tony supplied searching for the counter signatures mentioned; after a fruitless search he became more suspicious. "That copy of their signatures isn't included." He revealed with a frown.

"Just who have we gotten involved with?" Stormer wondered fearfully; Clash let out a sigh and flopped into a chair.

"Maybe Al would know." Matt spoke up surprising the Misfits; he hadn't been properly introduced and they just thought he was some legal aid for Stark, not another friend of Al's. "What with his unique connections." He added turning to eye Tony with a knowing look; not an easy feat for a blind man.

"Of course, we'll wait until he returns." Tony stated pausing as he turned to the Misfits. "In the mean time how about lunch?" He asked shooting the four women a charming smile. "My treat."

"Sounds heavenly." Stormer burbled. "And we can get to know this charming young man better." She added turning to Murdoch who fidgeted slightly, his track record with relationships wasn't very good and he was wary about such things; plus he was sort of seeing someone back in New York.

"Er; right." Matt mumbled politely. "Forgive me; Matt Murdoch." He introduced; Stormer took his hand and shook it.

"Pleased to meet you." She said. "So how do you know Al?" She wondered prying for gossip she could share with Kimber.

* * *

Ratbat did not like the reports Frenzy was feeding him; humans were once again involved with the oil rich platforms his team was cultivating Energon from. They could cause problems if they looked into matters too closely, but Reflector's blunder had forced Megatron into a cautious frame of mind; and yet if he was to send a personal warning… Perhaps he should attempt to do things the human way; seek a business transaction with these new owners, but how could he do that without alerting them to his true nature?  
It would take some careful planning before he could attempt such a thing; planning he had already begun some days earlier just in case, it often paid to have contingency plans after all.

* * *

I let out a sigh as I waited around outside the women's washroom; I'd forgotten what it would mean to chaperone young girls without back up. I'd missed half the movie already because I had to keep brining Amy, Ba Nee or Terri to the bathroom, but I really didn't mind; I mean I had seen it before. Terri emerged and shot me a grateful smile before we got back to our seats; and it was just reaching the climax of the film too when the pirates walked out to the Port Royal guards, perfect timing.

* * *

Nancy stood perfectly still; she worked slowly so that no one would detect her, slowly she stripped away all of her carefully crafted mental controls. Her body began to lose its liquid content; this would take very careful timing, she wanted to test her limitations see if she could use what she'd learned to regain mastery of the liquid loss before it was too late.  
She closed her eyes and counted; one minute, three minutes, five… At twenty-five she began to feel considerably weaker and at forty-five she knew she was past the halfway point. Quickly attempting to refocus her mental disciplines she failed, she tried again and again to no avail; fumbling for the collar she tried to reach it, too late. In horror she watched as her very hand lost physical cohesion and fell to the floor in a pool of liquid; she tried to scream, but her lungs had already been liquefied; in a last desperate attempt she opened her mind fully hoping the Professor would hear her.

* * *

Just as the film reached its exciting conclusion I felt a screaming presence in my mind; unable to control myself I tumbled out of my chair and gasped deeply searching for breath, what the hell was going on here?  
A tiny voice seemed to be screaming in fear and desperation for any help; something was happening somewhere, but it wasn't Amy so why was I hearing this? There seemed to be a great flash, which lit up the theatre briefly and enraged some of the patrons; a portion of my very essence seemed to latch onto this presence from somewhere else and seemed to strengthen it. Water, perspiration pooled around my brow and for a brief moment my body felt as though it were drowning; the next thing I knew the fear vanished replaced instead with awe and relief, I felt the briefest instants of a five way connection. There was Amy and myself, Professor Xavier and the unknown female who had cried out in desperate fear and a fifth semi-familiar presence… And then with another blinding flash it was all gone and only Amy was left as well as fleeting glimpses of something I could not even begin to comprehend even with all of my intellect, a veritably frustrating experience.

* * *

"I'm not dead." Nancy exclaimed opening her eyes in shock; she felt different, stranger. She'd been told that if she let herself go like that she would die, but just the opposite had happened; in fact she felt calmer and in more control over her trigger then she'd ever felt before.  
She willed her very body into a total liquid state and flowed out under the door; halfway down the hallway she returned to solid form. "I have control." She whispered as a sparkling rainbow flowed in between her hands; someone clapped loudly and she spun to face the same man who'd appeared before, a young woman was standing next to him with a smile on her face.

"I did attempt to spare you that method." He pointed out a twinkle in his eye; Nancy was at a loss for words, what was so important about her that she was being signaled out by this individual? "Well I'd better go before someone shows up to ask a lot of questions; however I'll leave you some uplifting words, though I suppose that depends on your point of view." He added with a tiny quirk of his lips. "I think we can expect great things of you Nancy Cates; oh yes, great things indeed." He stated in an overly theatrical tone before he vanished in a brilliant flash of light.

"You'll have to forgive him; he's always been like that." The woman said in a soft and surprisingly caring tone. "This had to happen naturally though; Xavier and McCoy had it wrong I'm afraid, your trigger would not lead to your demise, but then again they don't exactly understand how we operate, they never did." She added in a knowing tone of voice; she smirked slightly and shot Nancy a wink. "Your powers had to activate the hard way; some mutants, like you. Tend to develop such extreme powers that they can never truly control it or understand it; then they wind up dying and coming back stronger then ever, but with even less understanding of their powers. You on the other hand were at least spared the dying part; thanks to my linking your soul with a grounded soul like Al's, but anyway that's not really important… I'll be keeping an eye on you Nancy, and if you ever need help with something just ask for me; I'll know when you call." She finished with a smile and then she too flashed out leaving a very bewildered and confused Nancy; she really hadn't explained what happened to her after all, it was kind of like a mystery that had been solved, but there were still little clues left over.  
Shaking her head Nancy laughed long and loud; she didn't have to worry about dying any more, she was whole and for the first time since before her powers manifested she felt alive again.

* * *

Returning to the mansion I ushered the girls in and found Tony and Matt were not only still here; yet more surprising they seemed to have hit it off with the Misfits.

"Lela could you see to the others; I believe I have business to discuss." I stated matter of factly.

"Sure thing Al." She returned with a somber look; I felt a tug at my shirt.

"Do I have to go too Daddy?" Amy asked with a pout; I shook my head with a sigh.

"No, I suppose not." I replied as the others left the foyer and headed for their rooms, the kitchen or the den. Tony passed me one page of the contract with two words circled in red; my eyes narrowed at them and a low growl was obvious, Amy looked up fearfully.

"Are you ok Daddy?" She asked nervously; I sensed concern and offered an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, but I should have guessed **they** had something to do with this." I stated emphasizing the word; Tony shot me a knowing look and Matt frowned slightly.

"I take it you know who they are then." Stark stated eliciting another growl; I nodded at that.

"Tomax and Xamot." I spat; trust those two enterprising opportunists to try and get their hands on a personal fuel source for Cobra, Tony got a funny look in his eyes while Matt let out a groan of obvious recognition.

"Those two; I've had dealings with tenements of theirs in the past." He revealed. "They can be most difficult." He added with a sigh.

"That doesn't sound very promising." Stormer muttered flopping onto the couch; Clash sighed dejectedly and joined her perhaps sitting a tad too close for my liking in mixed company, especially Amy's.  
That's when pieces of a puzzle began to connect; each one falling into place after the other, Eric Raymond had betrayed the Decepticons somehow. Megatron personally executed him after Starscream and Soundwave botched the first attempt; Eric had worked for Gabor, Gabor happened to own his own chain of offshore oil platforms. A rich source of fuel that Cobra could use; and yet oil could also be converted into suitable Energon cubes, perfect to gain the upper hand if harvested in relative secrecy, but also perfect because Tomax and Xamot probably didn't know.

"I think I just had an epiphany." I revealed a small, slightly sinister smirk crossing over my features; they just had to go for it. "What if we offered them the one thing they are truly after? At least the one thing I have a strong suspicion they're after." I asked turning with a twinkle in my eye.

"What might that be luv?" Jetta asked picking up on my excitement; Amy looked up curiously and I nearly burst out loud laughing.

"The oil platforms." I replied simply. "I have a very strong feeling those two staged this elaborate scheme just to get the fuel reserves." I added with a slight twitch of my eye; the others eyed me curiously.

"How can we give them that?" Roxy demanded some small hint of foreknowledge in her tone; I grinned wickedly at that and held up my hand ticking off the facts with each finger.

"Quite simply actually." I returned the grin adopting a sly appearance. "In exchange for that they relinquish their claims to the rest of Gabor's holdings, they agree not to pressure you into selling them anything else, and they get a ready available raw fuel supply to do with as they see fit." I stated.

"But why would they agree to something like that?" Tony wondered; I smiled darkly this time and clenched a fist.

"I happen to be currently in tight with their bosssss." I returned enjoying my own private joke; Amy eyed me curiously and I felt tiny telepathic tendrils prying into my mind, I saw no reason to hide anything from her and so let her in on the joke.

"They have a boss?" Matt and Clash both exclaimed at the same time; Roxy eyed me nervously and suddenly I realized she might know more, she had been in tight with the Dreadnoks before Pizzazz if memory served.

"Something like that." I returned. "I met him somewhat due to events surrounding the BAT incident and my partial involvement against a certain enemy of all free countries." I added with a small sigh; Amy said nothing, but she patted my back with her tail encouragingly.

"You **met** him!" Roxy blurted emphasizing the last word with obvious fear and backing away slightly; I sighed and finally took a seat.

"Daddy; what's a cobra have to do with anything?" Amy suddenly asked aloud; I stiffened visibly at that, she didn't know that much about my interests besides Transformers however I had a feeling she was asking this openly to help put Roxy at ease. "And whose Joe?" She added in a baffled tone; my expression went through many variations as I fought the urge to shriek, laugh hysterically or even let out a holler for no particular reason. In the end I just let my tension ease out and slumped slightly in my seat; Amy hopped up into my lap with an apologetic looking expression and a brief tremor in her lips.

"GIJoe is the code name for America's daring, highly trained special mission force; its' purpose, to defend freedom against Cobra. A ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world." I recited complete in the all too familiar announcer's voice I remembered from the show; the Misfits, Tony and Matt eyed me incredulously, but Amy giggled and climbed up a little so I could wrap my arms around her tighter.

"Got you Daddy." She stated giving me a kiss on the cheek and tickling my nose with her tail. "Now you owe me one wish." She added with another giggle.

"Name it princess." I stated in turn grinning like a chesire cat.

"I want to meet an Autobot." She stated firmly; I let out a sigh and shook my head.

"Couldn't you have asked for something simpler." I groaned losing myself for this one moment.

"You've got to see one anyway about that Energon cube." She reminded; the others were quite clueless by now, but I felt no reason to elaborate for those who hadn't been there. Most of the Misfits knew anyway, but Tony, Matt and Jetta were out of the loop concerning my little indiscretion; and I figured they could just stay that way.

"All right you can meet one, now we've got to contact the crimson twins and see if we can't work this out." I returned steering our conversation back to the matter at hand; just as the sound of a car pulling up in front could be heard, Stormer glanced to the window and was surprised to see Roxy ducking out of sight. She turned to me in slight fear when she caught sight of who was out there.

"I don't think you need to worry about Tomax and Xamot." She revealed; that's when the knock came at the door. A scampering of feet and a cry of I'll get it led me to understand just who Ba Nee was about to let in, which just happened to coincide with the ringing of the phone.

"Now that's just Prime." I muttered picking up the receiver in the hall; having sprinted for the door to answer it myself, I heard the door open before the person on the other end even spoke and a slight squeal seemed to be present in the background.

"Hello; I wish to speak with a representative of the Misfits, the current holders of Gabor industries." An unfamiliar individual with a strangely mechanical voice requested, I quirked an eyebrow at this further coincidence; something however was a bit strange about the person on the other end as if I'd heard an eerily similar tone of voice before.

"Greetings young lady." A very familiar voice spoke up addressing Ba Nee most likely with a smile on his lips. "Are the Misfits here?" He asked.

"Destro." I gasped forgetting I was on the phone.

"I beg your pardon?" The person on the other end wondered sounding very unused to using manners in the slightest.

"Uh nothing; one moment please." I returned grabbing the cordless and joining the others in the den. "Someone on the phone wishes to speak with a representative of the Misfits." I revealed doing my best not to stare at the unmasked man next to Stormer; he had probably altered his face cosmetically so he wouldn't be recognized coming into the country.

"I'll take that Rutherford." Matt returned before either twin could speak and took the receiver; he moved off and began a conversation with the person on the other end softly.

"Always a pleasure to see you Rutherford, this." Tomax began.

"Is Mister McCullen, a client of ours." Xamot concluded; I put on my false meet and greet face and shook Destro's hand without batting an eye, it reminded me briefly of my first official meeting with Fisk.

"This is getting complex." Tony muttered; I suppose he recognized Destro's voice as I had, it was very hard to hide such an unmistakable vocal pattern, and Destro wasn't Zartan.

"A pleasure." Destro returned; I caught Matt suddenly flagging Tony over and Clash shying away from Xamot's presence.

"Mister McCullen here is interested." He began while Amy set herself on the floor to watch the show.

"In purchasing the Gabor holdings, lock, stock and barrel." Tomax finished; it was amazing how used to that I'd gotten; Matt slipped over to Tony and whispered something in his ear.

"Two Billion!" He hissed careful to speak in a low tone; this was indeed starting to get interesting.

"Really and how much would he be offering?" Jetta asked cautiously; Roxy had, as far as I could tell vanished into thin air.

"Three hundred and fifty-thousand." Destro proclaimed; my indomitable computerized brain ascertained that, that was highway robbery.

"You're joking." Stormer blurted; Destro's lips curled with just the barest hint of distaste.

"I assure you it's a fair offer." He affirmed in a salesman-like tone; I sneered at that unobserved, turning briefly to see what Matt was doing.

"I hardly think so." He spoke up just then. "Someone is just offering two billion for the oil industries alone." Matt countered passing the phone to me briefly.

"Ratbat what are you doing!" A voice squawked over the receiver; my eyes widened briefly, things had just clicked fully into place.

"Shut up Starscream this is delicate work." Ratbat hissed; of course only Amy and I heard this, Tomax and Xamot were suddenly sharing a look; obviously they realized that two billion dollars was a lot of money.

"Two billion." Destro sputtered. "But who…" He trailed off seeking to regain his composure.

"Excuse me." I spoke to Ratbat with Matt's voice. "I must put you on hold briefly so that we may discuss this in earnest." I added not caring at the looks aimed my way.

"Of course; I can wait." Ratbat returned confident in his victory; the Decepticon knew two billion wasn't anything to scoff at, my question was where he'd get it from, but then I decided I didn't want to know the answer.

"What is it Al?" Tony asked picking up on the hint of something in my eyes; I in turn began to pace out of habit.

"We shall dispense with the pleasantries, yesssss." I began in my typical Megatron esque tone of voice; my fascination with the Beast Wars Megatron's vocal patterns has a large part to do with why I loved that show. "We accept this offer; the Misfits hand the two billion over to Extensive Enterprises and you render the contract with them null and void." I continued; Destro made to say something, but I held up a hand to forestall him. "In this way they can sell off the rest to whoever they want; now here comes the best part, we notify the Autobots in secret that the new official owners are the Decepticons." I resumed ignoring the shocked expressions on everyone except Matt and Amy. "They finally manage to attack without fear of damaging the infrastructures or the fuel reserves; I have a sneaking suspicion that they've been attempting to find a way to deal with them since the late Mister Raymond reported their presence aboard said platforms, hence his apparent betrayal of the Decepticons and why he was executed. After all they don't want their hated foes any further chance to accumulate a massive quantity of raw fuel for their goals." I paused to let all of what I was saying sink in and then continued. "With the Decepticons defeated the oil producing apparati will revert to the custody of the Misfits; who shall graciously offer to donate them free of charge to Mister McCullen." I concluded with a big smile turning to face the collected group. "It's a win, win situation."

"But Daddy, what if the Decepticons retaliate against the Misfits for telling the Autobots?" Amy asked before anyone else could speak; I laughed out loud and turned narrow eyes upon the child.

"Simply because they won't know we informed them; it's hard to believe that Megatron is stupid enough to think the Autobots are unaware of his activities, especially considering they went out of their way to protect Mister Raymond, although sadly they didn't exactly do a bang up job in that department." I explained with a sinister smirk. "All of the blame for this most coincidentally and highly lucky assault at just that particular moment can be placed squarely upon the head of the deceased would be kidnapper." I informed clasping my hands behind my back. "The calculations and logic of the situation leave no other outcome to be deduced."

"I can see how you've earned your reputation among my colleagues." Destro observed a small smile playing across his features.

"I always did prefer being the manipulator instead of the manipulatee." I returned with a knowing smirk. "Mister McCullen the twenty-third." I added just for effect.

"This is indeed a brilliant plan." Tomax stated; he approached Stormer and reached out a hand, she shook it reluctantly.

"Mister Murdoch kindly inform the interested party that we graciously accept their offer." Xamot added with a wide grin.

"Anything to get out of this mess." Clash muttered aside to Jetta; Matt nodded and depressed the hold button, then he began to speak.

* * *

Amy decided to leave during all the business arrangements discussion; it was rather boring to her frame of mind, she stumbled upon Roxy alone in the kitchen drinking a cup of tea, of all things. The Misfit regarded the mutant child; she wondered suddenly if the girl was happy with Al as her father, Roxy's old man hadn't exactly been a prize winner.

"Not easy facing the demons of the past." She observed hopping into a seat and almost; though not quite grooming her hair.

"Words of wisdom." Roxy agreed; she would have voiced her question out loud, but something held her back. Suddenly the door flew open and someone most familiar to Amy barged in; she shrunk in her seat in sudden trepidation, but the man simply smiled.

"Relax kiddo." Q said with a wink. "Just came to pass you that paperwork; though you should tell your father and Ms. Benton about this." He added; Amy scrunched up her forehead and shook her head.

"Sunday; if Daddy knew that I was going to be allowed to stay here in Starlight Mansion while he's still here and even after he's gone he'd just worry about things." She stated in a low concerned tone; Q shrugged and turned back to the door.

"It won't be easy the longer you delay." He pointed out before vanishing through the door and flashing out unobserved.

"I know." Amy whispered slipping the legal documents under one arm and heading for their room; she paused and looked to Roxy. "You won't tell?" She pleaded.

"Sure thing squirt." She returned with a warm smile; this kid really was a lot smarter then she acted like around the other girls, Roxy wondered why she hid her intelligence if she'd been that smart she wouldn't have wound up leading the life she did, but she didn't bother asking she knew that secrets were something only to be shared after you earned the persons trust.

To Be Continued; **Oh wow; Amy's going to get to stay at Starlight Mansion instead of going back to the Star Trek universe of her origins... Well at least she won't be gone three months or more at a time during visits. And Cobra has gotten involved once again; lest we forget the Decepticons have found a way to pay money for their Energonharvestingoil platforms, seriously though how did they get that kind of cash? On second thought I don't think I want to know; ooooo, what juicy things will happen next time, and say just what did Q and Amanda Rogers AKA Q mean when they said all that stuff to Nancy, who now has full control of her mutant gift I might add. We'll just have to wait until the next chapter, so...  
Jem and the Holograms will be back after these messages.**


	14. Chapter 14 American Idol?

**Author's Notes:** There's not much I can say about the next chapter; it's pure fluff, also I apologize for the delay, but I kept putting off this chapter due to unexpected developments, nothin' serious though... Anyway: **We Now Return to Jem.**

* * *

The Holograms and Rio returned after everyone who happened to be a Cobra affiliate left and the business transaction with Ratbat was concluded; Al didn't bother worrying about where the money was coming from, he had a sneaking suspicion Ratbat was conning someone legitimately out of money, if the Decepticon stole it, it'd be too easy to trace. He wasn't stupid after all; somehow dinner was already on the table when they arrived and there was enough for everyone, including the impromptu dinner guests Tony Stark and Matt Murdoch. How they managed that feat Al wasn't quite sure of; all he knew was that Tony and Matt decided to stick around to celebrate the success of the plan that their Omniversal traveling friend had come up with.  
The conversation at dinner was quite non-specific and easily forgettable for the preoccupied young man; despite his confidence he didn't want to jeopardize the safety of his friends here, should the Decepticons actually put two and two together. Tony bid the group good night after dinner was over and left to board the quinjet he'd borrowed; Matt stuck around a few minutes longer to pass out his card, in case the Misfits had need of his services in future. With the billionaire playboy and the blind lawyer gone that just left a rather large collection of women, girls, Al and Rio; a very bored collection of girls, women, Al and Rio.

"Al; do you like know any good games we could all play?" Becky asked. "Something besides charades or Monopoly." She added with a sigh; Al thought about it a while, in fact he'd grown so distant lost in thought as he was that he didn't hear Amy calling until the tenth time.

"Daddy, honestly; you were off in space again." She pouted stamping her foot.

"Sorry, but it's been quite some time since I've played anything; aside from the sports we've been doing, but it's a tad too late for that, for Amy that is." He apologize scooping up his daughter into his lap and tickling her nose; she giggled before assuming a pensive look.

"Why not have a singing contest?" She suggested with a smile; the other girls all let out a collective cheer as if that was the best thing they'd heard ever, she smiled proudly as all eyes now turned to Al with a look of hope on their faces.

"Can we please; we never got to hear you sing last time." Terri spoke up a little shyly; Al looked on the spot and glanced over at the other adults, it was their call too realistically speaking why everyone always seemed to look to him for decisions at times like this since he'd gotten here confused him to no end.

"No way pal, we're off the clock when it comes to watching over the Starlight girls as long as you're in the same room; you volunteered and we agreed." Rio stated partially explaining how it was that Al became the go to guy when it came to activity planning.

"It's true." Jerrica agreed with a grin. "We all think it's a wonderful idea; it's up to you though to make the deciding vote." She stated; Al sighed and closed his eyes briefly calculating the possibility Q might show up and get him out of this one, but that scenario wasn't too likely.

"Of course we can." Amy stated in a no-nonsense tone before turning back to her father. "Right Daddy?" She urged her eyes growing wider and a tiny trembling pout spreading across her features.

"Oh no, anything but that." Al pleaded in an overtly theatrical tone; then he faked thrashing about as if Amy was bombarding some kind of emotional barrier, he faked a groan and averted his gaze to no avail. Then with a mighty roar of joy he pulled his precious daughter closer and nuzzled her cheek with his nose. "Cutie!" He exclaimed closing his eyes; his face crinkling with a great big smile of love and devotion. "Is it any wonder I can't say no to you? All the fun of having a cat with none of the mess." He quipped teasingly.

"Daddy." She scolded her face flushing a deep shade of red.

"Love has a way of making people act funny." He returned with an apologetic smile. "Now; it's fairly early, but if we wait any longer to figure things out it'll be your bed time. "He added climbing to his feet and examining the room. "If we're going to have a little singing contest we'll need to establish a few rules, like the judges and the participants, then again I really wouldn't call this a game." He finished rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"The girls love music so much it's sort of become one." Kimber pointed out with a warm smile; Al shrugged and began to pace slightly.

"We'll get the instruments." Delaree called as she and the Starlight girl band; who happened to call themselves The Starlighters dashed off to dredge up their equipment, Aja and Shana following after them to help with the heavier stuff.

"I know who the judges should be; Jerrica and the Holograms." Ba Nee pointed out with a big smile.

"What about us luv?" Jetta wondered slightly put off that the Misfits had been largely ignored in all this.

"Too many judges spoil the pot, or something like that; besides I'll need a backup band for my number." Al replied; Stormer, Roxy and Jetta eyed him warily.

"I don't know; you're not exactly Pizzazz." Clash voiced what the others were obviously thinking as they averted their gaze. "Still hot though; I mean if I was into that sort of thing." She added in a rather crass tone.

"Perhaps not, but the girls wouldn't be able to keep up with me like you could." Al returned; this got Rio's attention.

"Just what kind of song did you have in mind?" He demanded; Al chuckled and raised his hands up defensively.

"Relax prince charming; it's nothing inappropriate." He assured with a tiny smirk; the other girls had been rearranging the furniture this whole time and now they'd managed to set up an impromptu stage. The place looked almost like a backyard concert hall; most of the other girls were sitting down, but Ba Nee and Terri had remained standing.

"Who's all participating?" Krissie asked as the group returned with the instruments.

"Us naturally." Ashley returned as if it should be obvious.

"Me and Terri want to sing too." Ba Nee spoke up bravely; Amy shuffled her feet and raised her hand.

"I've been practicing." She revealed meekly; Al beamed proudly and cuddled her.

"And of course Al and the Misfits." Kimber revealed with a grin; the others all smiled knowingly, meanwhile Ashley and her band set up the instruments. Everyone found a place to settle themselves as the younger girls huddled together to discuss what song they'd sing; Al realized something important and raced off, moments later he was back his camera in hand.

"Ok; someone's gonna have to film me during my number, but I can handle the rest." He said.

"I'll do it." Rio spoke up. "Since I'm qualified." He added ribbing the other man good naturedly; Al shook his head at the display and turned to the girls, the first to sing would be Terri, Ba Nee and Amy who'd lost some of her confidence and who'd requested to join in their number.

"Ok; do you need us to perform for you?" Ashley asked helpfully; Terri nodded scratching at her head as if she had an itch, Amy shot her an apologetic look.

"Sorry; it's the only way I can learn the words, I hope you don't mind." She said in a low cautious tone.

"It's ok, but it's kind of odd." Terri admitted; Amy pouted slightly and reached over to pat the other girls shoulder apologetically, Ba Nee whispered what song they wanted to sing Krissie's eyes lit up.

"Oh good; well if you're ready." She said; the three nodded and Deidre began to tap her drumsticks together.

"A one, and a two and a…" She said before the band began to play.

"A father should be a good man; a father should be wise." Ba Nee began to sing first. "A father should be tall and strong, with laughter in his eyes." Terri came in the two of them sounding in perfect pitch; Shana smiled at the words of the song, Kimber had helped write it for Ba Nee when she was feeling especially sad and they'd even got her to sing it for the album it had been part of. "A father should be behind you, a father should be there." Amy came in lastly and her voice was so melodious it brought a tear to her father's eye; his pride was practically radiating off of him in waves. "A father should be someone, who always treats you fair!" The three of them sang out as one before reaching the coda. "I know the kind of man." Terri sang out with Ba Nee and Amy singing along softer in the background. "A father ought to be; a shining knight, who fights the good fight and wins it just for me!" She sang loudly closing her eyes as a tear briefly touched her eye.  
"A father should be a hero, a father should come through, a father should be someone…" Terri and Ba Nee looked to Amy seeming to sense what she wanted to do. "Someone just like you!" The Catarian finished looking directly into her own father's eyes; he smiled slightly as tears stained his eyes, the song may have been short, but it was touching and sweet and really struck Al to the core of his being. The other girls clapped loudly with approval as the adults shot winning smiles at all three participants; Amy giggled happily and enwrapped both her new friends in a big hug.

"You were great." Ba Nee congratulated.

"Thank you for picking that song." Amy said crying slightly.

"We've never had such good harmony before." Terri exclaimed laughing bubbly. "You've just gotta stay longer; it'd be fun to sing that again for Jem's new CD." She added; Amy squirmed a little nervously.

"Ok, ok enough of that, it's our turn now." Ashley said rather rudely.

"Ashley." Aja scolded.

"Sorry, but I'm eager to finish up and hear Al." She admitted with a sheepish expression; Amy giggled and shot the older girl a knowing look.

"It's ok, I know you're gonna love my Daddy's singing just as much as me." She said with a wink shot Al's way; the older man groaned slightly and shifted slightly for a better angle with his camera. The Starlighters retuned their instruments slightly and then began in on something that sounded vaguely familiar to Al; it was obviously well known to the others because they cheered.

"I keep runnin' in circles, never know where I stand nothing seems to work exactly as I planned show me the way, whoa, whoa! Show me the way, Oh won't somebody show me the way, the right direction show me the way, the right connection. Show me the way, oh, show me the way." Ashley sang with a flourish; the judges seemed rather impressed especially with how well the girls managed to duplicate their old song with a bit of their own personalities and take on it, the back up vocals were quite impressive as well.  
"I fall into danger seems I never win I think I'm safe, then I see the mess I'm in; show me the way, whoa, whoa where in all this madness do I go? Baby, baby, if you know, whoa, whoa show me the way, oh won't somebody show me the way, the right direction. Show me the way, the right connection show me the way, oh, show me the way. Show me the way, oh, show me the way. Show me the way, oh Show me the way, the way, the way, the way." The girls finished brilliantly and everyone clapped or cheered even Jerrica and the others; the Misfits slowly moved towards the instruments, but Al held up a hand.

"I'll be singing a song you definitely don't know; so I guess I'd better approximate the melody, I hope you can pick things up fast because I don't want to go through it all." He revealed moving over to Delaree and requesting her guitar.

"You girls were Outrageous!" Kimber exclaimed.

"But don't you play your own songs?" Aja wondered while Al was busy trying to remember how to play a guitar.

"We try; we write stuff and everything, but we didn't want to sing any of those because… Well we don't think they're good enough." Krissie admitted with a little shake of her head.

"How will you know if you never share them with anyone?" Shana asked gently; Ashley shrugged.

"Maybe we'll share'em one day, but tonight we wanted something simple." She stated flatly; at last Al seemed to know what he wanted and so turned back to the Misfits.

"Who's on guitar?" He asked; Roxy and Stormer held up their hands, Al shook his head.

"One of you is going to have to either play the keyboard or the drums; I seem to recall Jetta only played a saxophone." He added; Jetta shook out her hair and shot him a glare.

"You sayin' I can't play anything else luv?" She demanded; Al squirmed slightly.

"It's not that; I mean… Aw hexagonal nuts I just put my foot in my mouth that time." He grumbled using a phrase that didn't make much sense; Amy giggled though and clapped her hands, Jetta promptly grabbed the second guitar.

"Alright yank, let's hear this." She demanded; Al nodded and played a slight riff, he went through a small percentage of the tune and by the end Jetta seemed to have it down pat as did Roxy and Stormer.

"I think we're gonna need three or four guitars actually; I don't remember if this song even used a keyboard, let me think for a moment." He said standing stock still; he looked almost unnatural as his eyes glazed over literally and it almost looked like computer code raced past his pupils. "We can make it fit." He said after a couple minutes. "And Clash why don't you play the drums?" He asked turning to the honorary Misfit with a smile; her eyes lit up.

"You'd really let me play?" She asked hopeful.

"Why not luv, the yanks' got a point we never did have drums and we don't exactly play'em very well." Jetta returned while Roxy had already laid claim to the second guitar; Stormer stood over by the keyboard, Al sighed as he moved over to the drums.

"Ok; for the most part this is the beat." He stated banging out the beat with his hands and making the sound with his mouth; though not literally, he was going more like bum, bum, rum, bum, bum, bum, bum, rum, bum, bum, bum.

"Easy." Clash stated taking up her position; Al nodded and then a sudden thought came to him.

"I think I'll need a lousy guitar too; I can't exactly show you the solo part." He grumbled; Shana nodded and quickly left returning with one of the Holograms guitars, Al took it almost reverently and tuned it with his tendrils as he moved over to Stormer, he whispered something in her ear and tapped a few keys seeing how they sounded. This was beginning to look like a full blown production, but Al needed to share how to play the song; since it didn't exist on this Earth. He really shouldn't have picked it, but he'd always wanted to do this and never got the chance on the holodeck.

"We ready?" Clash asked impatiently; she'd always wanted to be a part of the Misfits, she had even taken singing lessons after her failure to double as Jem that one time. If only Pizzazz had let her show that she was more then just a brat who could get in to places; with a wistful sigh she shook away her melancholy and turned back to the defacto leader of the Misfits.

"Follow me and try your best to keep up." Al declared before nodding his head at Clash to get the ball rolling; the song started with drums first, she banged out the beat and then Al came in followed rapidly by Roxy, Jetta and Stormer.  
"TRANSFORMERS!" Al exclaimed at the top of his lungs when it was time to come in with the words; this caught everybody's attention, some of the news reporters had coined the term Transformer when the Autobots and Decepticons first revealed themselves and most of the Holograms recognized it. Amy beamed happily and began to bob along with the music; soon the girls followed her lead, the beat was catchy."Something evil's watching over you; coming from the sky above, and there's nothing you can do. Prepare to fight there'll be no place to run; when you're caught within the grip, of the evil Megatron… Transformers; More than Meets the Eye." Al sang his eyes closed as he lost himself with the familiar tune. "Transformers; Robots in Disguise." That last line was sung in a purely mechanical tone of voice and Amy squealed with delight when she heard it; with everyone preoccupied they hadn't noticed the strange woman appear behind Jerrica, Syn smiled as she watched Al cut loose.  
"Strong enough to break the bravest heart; so we have to pull together, no we can't stay worlds apart. To stand divided we will surely fall; until our darkest hour, when the light will save us all! Transformers; More than Meets the Eye. Transformers; Robots in Disguise… Transformers! Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of… The Decepticons." Al really got into it now as the solo was close at hand and a small smile played across his lips as he sang the part that would lead into it. "Transformers… Transform!" He exclaimed and then went into the solo riff like a pro; he even put in some of his own twists as his brain could easily re-write the notes to suit any need and redirect that information to his fingers. He even added a longer part to the riff by incorporating some of the music from the big battle scene between the Autobots and the Decepticons; this version of the theme song originated with the nineteen eighty-six movie on his world after all. "It's judgment day and now we've made our stand; and fornow the powers of darkness, have been driven from our land. The battle's over, but the war has just begun; and this way it will remain 'til the day when all are one…" Al opened his eyes now and the emotion there really spoke volumes as to how much this song meant to him; the Holograms couldn't believe the amount of love, happiness and devotion that pooled within those rich blue orbs. "Transformers! Robots in Disguise… Transformers! No time to run and hide… Transformers! Fight for what is right… Transformers! More, than, Meets, the, eye… Transformers!" Al finished with a big flourish; perspiration beading down from his forehead and neck, the Misfits looked hot too and Aja passed out some glasses of water.

"That was cool." Deidre exclaimed shooting the man a thumbs up. "Did you make that song?" She wondered.

"In a way." He returned with a sly smile. "I guess you could say I more remade it." He added a little under his breath. "But man that really dehydrates a guy." He muttered gulping his glass of water.

"That was hard rock." Rio stated rather pointlessly; Al nodded. "You have a very strange idea for what's appropriate." He retorted.

"Hey, there was nothing sexually inferred or violently inferred in that song." Al shot back. "The camera get it?" He wondered; Rio nodded. "Great, now I can say I played with the Misfits." He exclaimed with a laugh.

"You may not have been as good as Pizzazz, but you sure looked right there." Stormer admitted; Al blushed slightly at that.

"You trying to tell me I should start a band?" He asked with a nervous laugh.

"Well; you've got talent." Roxy pointed out and most of the other women nodded; Al shook his head.

"I'm a computer; of course I have talent, it's not really my voice that I use whenever I sing it's sort of like a compilation of all the best voices I know, or heard growing up, it's mimicry plain and simple and nobody likes that in a singer… Then again just look at Brittney Spears." He returned laughing at the expense of the woman. "Besides; I've got obligations." He finished with a little sigh.

"Yeah; well now that that's out of the way." Ashley spoke up before anyone else could. "Who won?" She demanded.

"Good question; even if it was rude of you Ashley." Aja returned; the Holograms huddled together and whispered amongst themselves, fortunately Al didn't eavesdrop because he wanted to be surprised; just as the girls.

"After careful deliberation." Shana began a few minutes later. "We've decided that everyone's a winner." She revealed with a big smile.

"Considering we forgot to establish a prize it only seems fair." Kimber added with a smile of her own.

"That suits us just fine." Roxy stated with a grin; Al smirked slightly and moved off to one side strumming the guitar slightly as his thoughts drifted to another who had missed his impromptu performance.

"I guess we can live with that." Deidre spoke up ignoring Al's sudden odd behavior; Amy looked up at the adults incredulously.

"Even I won?" She asked innocently.

"Even you." Jerrica concurred with a laugh; Amy grinned broadly and puffed up with pride, which looked a little funny considering her appearance. Al sighed as he sat down on the far couch a wistful expression in his eyes.

"I wish Rogue could have seen it; in person I mean not just via the camera when I show it to her later." He amended with a mournful expression; Rio shot him a brief look of sympathy and Amy gave him some of her mood via their link, he smiled wistfully at the little girl. "Thanks for that little one, but… Well." He began and then because of the mood he was in he began to play a new song; strangely enough he was feeling a little more open concerning his musical talents, or rather the talents he stole from his computer databanks so he figured he'd play another song and try to cheer himself up. "Somewhere in that darkness, lost between dawn and twilight… I am one who knows all of the dangers of the night… I'm a warrior, who was chosen at birth… And I am every bit the savior of this God sweet Earth… " He sang creating his own words as he went along though he was playing a very familiar tune.  
"I need a hero; I need a hero to help me cope with my plight. She has to be soft, and she has to be smart and she has to be there for the fight… I need a hero; I can't live without her despite my might. She has to be tough, and she has to be strong and she needs to be there every night… I save the planet from darkness and the forces of chaos… I fight the good fight to ensure that there's never a loss… But even heroes fall and can suffer defeat… I need the help of one to pick me back up on my feet.I need that hero; I need that hero before I am forced to crumble. She has to be soft, and she has to be smart and she needs to make me so humble… I need a hero; I need a hero to save me when I fall. She has to be tough, and she has to be strong and just be there 'cause that's best of all… I need that hero; I can't stand to be without her despite my might…" He really lost himself now and yet he was feeling remarkably better; he played a short solo bit for he recalled that the song did include one, though of course his instrumental was different from the actual tune because he was only one guitar not a full band.  
"When the darkness overcomes; when the enemies surround all. I can always count on her no matter what's abound… She will come despite the rain, she will stop all of my pain, and she will make me feel what I'm missing in my life. I need a hero; I need a hero to help me cope with my plight. She has to be soft, and she has to be smart and she has to be there for the fight… I need a hero; I can't live without her despite my might. She has to be tough, and she has to be strong and she needs to be there every night… I need that hero; I need that hero before I am forced to crumble. She has to be soft, and she has to be smart and she needs to make me so humble… I need a hero; I need a hero to save me when I fall. She has to be tough, and she has to be strong and just be there 'cause that's best of all… I need that hero; I need that hero despite all of my might…" He finished the words, but kept playing for a few extra minutes a big smile crossing his features; he felt great, despite his longing for Rogue he knew things would be alright and she wasn't in any dire trouble.

"Wow; you really miss her." Lela remarked; Al snapped out of his thoughts recalling that he was not alone.

"Er; well when you're older and really in love I'm sure you'll feel the same way about him." He stated. "Besides true love has a habit of doing that to a fellow." He added.

"Feeling better Daddy?" Amy asked concernedly; Al chuckled and placed the guitar down.

"Much." He replied. "After all I still have you to liven my spirits." He added rushing over and tickling her; she giggled loudly and then nuzzled up close to her father yawning a great big cat-like yawn showing off her canines.

"Daddy I'm tired." She admitted; Al stood straighter and eyed the little girl.

"Indeed." He observed in that aristocratic tone he favored some days. "Time to journey into lands of dreams and fantasies then." He elaborated with a chuckle as he scooped her into his arms; Amy nuzzled against his chest and giggled.

"You're a big kid Daddy." She teased; Al nodded.

"Ahyuck I shore am." He returned in Goofy's voice.

"Good night everybody." Amy called over Al's shoulder.

"Good night." An answering chorus of replies called back; Al left the room then and headed upstairs, Terri and Ba Nee followed after him they too hard grown tired and had decided to turn in as well.

"That man fits in here even with all his secrets." Kimber muttered aside to the Holograms; Jerrica nodded, Synergy had left after Al's first song and so hadn't been noticed.

"I think he grew up in a big family; he really likes acting the father for all these girls, though I can't help, but think he'd like a couple of boys around here to even things out, sometimes he looks a little frazzled." She observed with a tiny smirk; Aja nudged her friend with a knowing glint in her eyes.

"Then hadn't Rio and you better get started." She teased.

"Aja." Shana scolded looking aghast.

"The same could be said of you and Craig." Kimber pointed out slyly; Aja's face turned scarlet and she averted her gaze. "Ooooo; then you've already had a little fun in that way, for shame." She crooned in a soft tone.

"Kimber." Jerrica scolded in turn; Kimber averted her gaze and Jerrica sighed. "It seems' like we've been dating the same men for over two decades." She moaned. "I'm not complaining mind you, but it'd be nice if we could settle down now; Al was right when he was possessed by that program of Dad, Rio's taking a tad too long to ask the question." She stated shooting her boyfriend a slightly irritating look.

"You could always go back to Riot." Kimber pointed out speaking seriously.

"Riot was nice, but he wasn't Rio; besides he's got his own life now and I'd only complicate things for him." Jerrica countered.

"You know I feel the same way about Craig." Aja admitted. "Maybe I should get Stormer to talk to him for me, I never liked confronting him with stuff." She added; Shana shed a brief tear, she too felt like she'd been waiting most of her life. Her boyfriend Anthony Julian was just as stubborn and close lipped when it came to that kind of discussion; still she loved him with all her heart, Kimber sighed dejectedly.

"I'm jealous now; you've all got steady's at least, my prospect turned out to be soul mates with another woman." She muttered; the Holograms moved in for a group hug offering their support.

"Cheer up Kimber; you'll find that special someone some day." Her sister said for the group; Kimber nodded accepting the words of wisdom even if she didn't believe them, and then they were all smiles again as they moved to huddle around Rio and check out the images on Al's camera.

* * *

She could not see; darkness was a constant companion, that and the creatures of shadow. She lay naked on a cold floor save for her mask, which had not been removed; yet again she wished for aid from Roma though she knew none would come. She had long forgotten who she was, her name, her identity lost after the constant violations of her body, mind and soul; she had long since ceased her struggles. There was none who could save her, suddenly she could see again and the suddenness of it took her by surprise; harsh light blinded her for the briefest of moments as light was reintroduced to her world.

"Arachnia; you have past your trials." He spoke as the shadowy tendrils caressed and massaged her aching muscles, bringing the healing touch to them.

"Your dignity may be returned to you." She supplied as a colorless costume appeared on a small bench; she approached it tentatively and proceeded to attire herself once again, grateful for the warmth it allowed; her body had been cleaned after the final session mere hours ago, she stood eyeing the dimness all around her for it was ever black in this strange place.

"Now for your first assignment." She stated emerging from the darkness and passing her a folder; she was indistinct, yet Arachnia knew every inch of the woman's body, for he had forced her to perform with her for his amusement. "Keep an eye on this individual for us; he may prove useful in the future." She informed; the other eyed the contents of the folder relatively quickly, he looked vaguely familiar.

"I will not fail." The former captive stated; some small part of her brain told her to resist, but the fight had long since been lost in her eyes and soul, only the barest hint of individual thought remained, she had been broken. Sexually used until she no longer had any will of her own; she existed only to serve her master and mistress now. The consort smiled and a pool of shadows surrounded her lovers' favorite plaything sending her out of the shadow realm and back to the real world.

"Now all we can do is wait for Cobra and the Decepticons to each make their moves." He sighed slipping up to the woman of his dreams.

"Unless something unknown occurs." She returned with a sudden welling of dread within; she tried to dismiss it, but for some reason the feeling would not subside if only she could find **him**, not knowing where Roma's trusted warrior was made her extremely nervous.

* * *

The dream came again; darkness crushing and squeezing, choking the very life from the Earth, I fought valiantly, but could not prevail. Until the light shone out from one point of the Earth; then it surrounded me, I saw images of giant robots fighting one another, terrorists in red snake skins combated against the American flag, shadowy forms of familiar Marvel villains appeared and as usual it ended with two even larger robots.  
One with an orange cannon on his right arm and a purple crown; the other a brilliant red, gray and blue with twin cannons on his shoulders and a rifle in one hand. I awoke with a start breathing heavily; the silent sounds of Amy's purrs could be heard, I took a deep sigh and wiped the perspiration from my brow. I climbed out of bed and grabbed a pair of pants; slipping them on I carefully slipped out of the room and made my way downstairs, I slumped onto one of the chairs and rubbed the bridge of my nose in silent aggravation.

"What's with all these damn nightmares of late?" I grumbled. "And why do they always end with those two clashing?"

"Which two?" A voice wondered startling me; I glanced up to see Synergy wearing a most appropriate choice for her human form, it gave off a telltale radiance and I smiled at the woman I had come to think of as a sister.

"Optimus Prime and Galvatron." I replied with another sigh; she quirked an eyebrow at that and pursed her lips in thought.

"Perhaps Roma is guiding you from afar." She hazarded taking a seat across from me.

"Not her style; and Q is many things, but he certainly isn't subtle." I returned with a smirk. "No; they began after the Energon cube." I revealed with a slight shudder.

"Perhaps it is affecting you negatively." She proposed; I sighed and slumped further into my seat, Syn eyeing me with some concern, she looked like she wanted to say something, but then thought better of it.

"Nothing for it then; I'll have to meet with an Autobot in the know." I stated; Syn smiled and patted my knee.

"Relax; they won't bite you know." She returned with a grin; I chuckled slightly and closed my eyes in thought.

"Wheeljack is my best bet; the scientist would be able to figure this out." I surmised; Syn surprised me by sitting in my lap and resting her head against my chest. "Uh; Syn." I began to protest.

"Just a few minutes; I've heard and seen Jerrica and Rio doing stuff like this, I'm curious." She requested; I sighed, but remained silent and slowly fell back into uneasy sleep.

* * *

"Aw isn't that cute." Al heard someone say an indeterminate amount of time later; his eyes popped open to find Kimber, Jerrica, Aja and Shana surrounding him and Syn still sitting in his lap.

"Er; did she fall asleep?" He wondered confusedly.

"No; she merely wished to enjoy this sensation little brother." Syn returned with a wistful sigh as she climbed to her feet; startling Al and the others with the term used.

"You holograms are certainly light." He observed with a chuckle stretching in the seat; then he turned to Jerrica with conviction in his eyes. "I need to see an Autobot today, is that going to be ok; I mean the girls will have someone to watch over them if I have to leave?" He asked.

"Of course." She replied. "If nothing else Synergy can fill in." She added with a smile directed towards the hologram of what had become one of her closest and trusted friends.

"I'd be delighted to." Syn stated with a smile; Al nodded and held up his watch depressing a certain nigh-invisible switch with one of his assimilation tendrils.

"Locate Autobot frequency." He requested sounding slightly stranger to the Holograms' ears; as if he was used to speaking to computers rather then anything else.

"Searching." A harsh male voice reported; Al sat patiently thrumming his fingers on the arm rest, after a few moments it beeped and static began to crackle, the Holograms watched on fascinated.

"Autobot Hound; do you read?" He called out. "This is… Er, the Starlight Chauffeur calling Autobot Hound, are you receiving?" He paused trusting the Decepticons weren't eavesdropping on this line; his watch had built in jamming equipment for just such an emergency, though why he'd installed all of the fancy communications equipment was beyond him considering his com badge would have sufficed just as well.

"My main man Hound isn't in at the moment, is there anything I can do for you?" A different; though no less familiar voice responded, Al smirked slightly and Syn laughed briefly in the background.

"That depends; who's this?" He demanded throwing just the right amount of suspicion in his voice so as not to give away the fact that he had instantly recognized the unit responding in Hound's stead, he didn't want the Holograms or Jerrica to know the extent of his knowledge even though they already thought Transformers had something to do with his condition.

"This is your rockin' DJ Jazz, so what's the big problem that needs Hound to see to?" The Autobot music enthusiast asked shifting in his position just enough that Al could detect the barely audible sounds of metal arms uncrossing.

"Actually I need a scientists' expert opinion; this particular problem involves Energon." Al explained; though he loathed to do this he had to ask. "Is Wheeljack or even Ratchet around?" He wondered.

"Hey; you're in luck." Jazz began sounding as if he was walking out of range of Teletran. "Hey there Wheeljack sounds like someone needs some major assistance of the scientifical variety." Al heard faintly; then the sound of metallic footsteps rang out across the channel and he smiled.

"Jazz tells me you need my help." The unmistakable voice of Wheeljack stated; Al's smile widened as he pictured the Autobot scientist and his twin vocal arrays flashing with each word, just like on the cartoon.

"That's the biggest understatement of the millennia." Al muttered eliciting a fit of giggles from Kimber. "Look this particular problem requires your physical presence to better explain; do you think you could come to the Starlight Mansion in Los Angeles?" He wondered trying hard not to let his excitement at such a prospect show through on his face or in his voice.

"I really don't like to leave my lab." Wheeljack admitted. "But if this is really an emergency; I suppose I can make an exception." He stated with a tiny sigh.

"Yo; better take some back up, just in case there are any Decepticon shenanigans." Jazz interrupted; Al heard Wheeljack sigh a second time and chuckled under his breath at the colorful phrase Jazz had used.

"All right; we should be there a little after noon." The put out scientist stated. "Autobot HQ out." He added before the line went dead.

"That's perfect; Amy will be so thrill…" He trailed off as a strange tingle ran down his spine and a big grin spread across his features. "This is gonna be so cool." He exclaimed literally bouncing in his seat like a big kid.

"Well we've got to get to work; ciao." Jerrica informed leading the Holograms out of the room and leaving Al alone once more with Syn.

"I hope he doesn't bring one of the Dinobots." She remarked; Al's face instantly fell at that and he squirmed a little, that would definitely bring back some unwanted attention.

"I hadn't thought of that." He admitted with a theatrical sigh. "Hey; doesn't Jerrica need those?" He wondered pointing to the Jemstar earrings.

"Oh; I forgot." Syn exclaimed dashing out of the room; Al sighed a second time as thoughts turned to his imminent meeting with two Autobots, but Wheeljack was smart enough not to bring a Dinobot along, right?

To Be Continued: **Perhaps I cut it off too sone, but hey I'll make it up; next week I'll try for three full updates to this story... The Autobots are going to get involved, and as always more Amy fluff, it's just total cute factor no matter what so all I have to say is...  
Jem will be back right after these messages.**


	15. Chapter 15 Meeting the Autobots

**Author's Notes:** What no reviews? Usually I wait for one or two before updating, but right now there's none and I did promise at least two updates this week alone; don't know if I'll be able to stick with that though seeing as how nobody seems to want to review, but I couldn't hold off on this chapter any longer because I just dig it so much... Well I dig the whole story, but anyway enough of that because I digress, please if you'd be so kind R&R and let me know if you still like how I'm handling everything, is the story going too slowly? Is there not enough action? Humor? Suspense? Just let me know even if it's one or two words; and so, here is chapter fifteen...** Meeting the Autobots**.

Jerrica: "Oh Sithicus haven't you forgotten something?"

Me: "Forgotten? Oh Right..." **And now back to Jem.**

* * *

Nancy fidgeted as Hank kept twiddling with his equipment he was still uncertain as to what had happened, but when Nancy explained what happened she'd heard Jean mention the letter q; as if it were a name. The Professor had probed her mind lightly; he hadn't said anything, but his expression had darkened slightly and Nancy didn't understand why, maybe they knew who that man and woman had been.  
She had exhibited complete mastery of her gift now; well complete in the sense that she was no longer threatening to expel all the water from her physical being any more. She could attack with water based projectiles, render herself fully into a liquid state and travel in said state; and she could also perform other feats though admittedly some of them were certainly not easy.

"Aha." Beast suddenly exclaimed. "I believe I've found that which we seek." He explained bounding over to Nancy quite literally.

"The child is in no danger then?" The Professor inquired showing true concern for her; Nancy was touched.

"Quite; her mutation seems to have been in the earliest stages of development, what we feared would kill her was merely a natural process." Hank informed; Nancy sighed and wondered what exactly that meant. "Her body is perfectly fine; though comprised entirely of hydrogen oxide, in essence she is a mutant equivalent of the deranged Hydro-Man; though why our equipment didn't register this phenomena properly is beyond my knowledge." He finished with a slight frown; the Professor pursed his lips in deep thought and Nancy began to feel uncomfortable, with a simple thought she removed herself from the scanners and pooled onto the floor reforming into her human form. Her eyes widened in fear; she hadn't even felt the physical change, it just happened.

"Isn't Hydro-Man a super villain?" She asked fearfully; afraid that she might turn out to be evil or something as young children often do, even though she was slowly beginning to mature she still had certain childish qualities.

"Indeed he is." Hank replied in typical fashion. "But according to my biological scans of your person there are distinct differences; for instance Hydro-Man is composed primarily of salt water, whereas you are leaning more closer to fresh water." He stated ticking it off on one overly large hand. "Hydro-Man as far as I know; is cursed with the great misfortune of being susceptible to evaporation and condensation if he's not careful he becomes rain; you are still human as far as I can tell, though your internal organs have been liquefied for lack of a better terminology." He finished.

"So what happens when I eat?" Nancy interrupted still fearful.

"Your body can still process food; liquids on the other hand… Well I'm afraid you won't be able to drink any carbonated beverages any more; or at least as often as before." He replied with a good natured smile; Nancy sighed and turned to the Professor.

"Do I still need training?" She wondered curiously.

"Yes; a few more days at least." The Professor returned with an apologetic smile. "So you better understand how your body does what it does." He further explained; Nancy sighed a tiny sigh, but shot the two adults with an encouraging smile.

"Oh well at least I'll be able to go home a lot sooner." She stated optimistically, but the Professor couldn't help to notice the few stray tears at the corner of her eyes.

* * *

Much later after breakfast a lone man sat in his penthouse apartments reading the Daily Bugle; his teeth involuntarily clenched at the sight of Parker and the mysterious Spider-Girl, as the paper dubbed her.

"As usual Parker you never cease to amaze me." He muttered in a low unpleasant tone. "Just where did you find this one?" He wondered; he hated not having information, knowledge was power after all. "And where did your friend Rutherford vanish too." He added in a curious tone; he was unaware that at this very moment he was being watched by a young woman in a rather impractical attire for spy work.

* * *

At precisely twelve on the dot the sound of two vehicles pulling up alerted me to the Autobots' arrival; fortunately the pizza I'd ordered for lunch had already come, Amy, Ba Nee, Ashley and Deidre trailed after me as I went outside to see an impressive sight. There was Wheeljacks' Lancia Stratos vehicle mode along side a smaller four by four, which had to be Brawn considering he was the only land rover defender Autobot I knew of; and it scared me slightly that my computerized brain now recognized the make and model of the car.

"You're the one in trouble then." Wheeljack asked; I smiled and nodded running a hand through my hair.

"I guess you can say that." I added for the benefit of the Autobots; thus confirming my voice, right before my eyes both of them transformed into their respective robot forms, something Hound had never done in front of me… In point of fact so far I'd only come face to face with Reflector's individual components in robot mode; seeing the Autobots transform filled me with a giddy thrill and I found my smile growing wider.

"So what's the problem squirt?" Brawn asked; I sighed and shifted my gaze to look directly at him while I addressed him.

"You'd better come around back; this is going to take some explaining and I'd rather not have the neighbors seeing you." I stated heading around the outside of the mansion; the Autobots and the girls followed suit, once out of sight of prying eyes I took a seat on one of the poolside recliners and let out a tired sigh; exposition was slowly becoming tedious.

"You're Brawn." Amy spoke up cutting into my thoughts; the Autobot nodded.

"That's me alright little squirt." He stated with a warm smile directed towards the little girl; I shook my head slightly at that, Brawn certainly wasn't what I expected, but at least he was better then a Dinobot.

"Cool." She whispered bringing a smile to my lips; I decided the best course of action was to get right to the point, so I shot out my tendrils and ruffled Amy's hair.

"I have become something more then human thanks to an event I'd really rather not get into." I began looking straight up into Wheeljack's optics; though unable to gauge his reaction, it was a real strain too despite my brief sojourns onto the holodeck where these characters sometimes appeared I wasn't used to seeing a real physical giant, so to speak. "My body has become a technorganic machine; I am capable of performing astounding feats, yet require the use of a specially crafted bed to replenish the energies I expend, no matter how insignificant the loss." I continued allowing my tendrils to flow lazily around. "A little over four days ago; give or take, the Decepticon known commonly as Reflector came here to eliminate me. Primarily because I'm the one who helped trick the Decepticons; it was my voice and my communications array that intercepted the false transmission your friends were using to convince Starscream and Megatron to the successful extermination of Eric Raymond." I paused to gauge both Autobot's reactions; as surmised Wheeljack remained impassive, though clearly attentive, while Brawn was in shock.  
"I can only surmise that Soundwave analyzed the transmissions and recognized the voice of one of my charges; who inadvertently forced my involvement in the matter when she thought the closest thing she had to a mother was in jeopardy. Fortunately a few very good friends of mine happened to be visiting; and I'm no stranger to tackling oversized opponents, and quite frankly Spectro, Spyglass and Viewfinder are relative pushovers compared to any other units they could have sent. They underestimated me and paid the ultimate price; unfortunately I'd expended quite an abundance of energy, it's not easy creating localized gravity fields dense enough to crush Cybertronian alloys after all." I admitted with a chuckle.

"You're taking too long Daddy." Amy interjected with a pout seeing that her friends were looking exceptionally bored with the conversation. "My Daddy drank one of their Energon cubes to recharge and hasn't needed to regenerate since; he wanted to make sure nothing bad would happen." She stated; Brawn eyed me with something akin to respect and a little confusion, while Wheeljack seemed lost in thought.

"Microscopic nanoprobes?" He hazarded; I nodded wondering if he recognized the implications of that, but I hardly think the Autobots spend their time watching television when they have free time. "Interesting. Regenerative properties I'd wager; Energon cubes are highly concentrated… I think we'd have to use Teletran to reach any definite conclusions though." He was muttering to himself now and I sighed; I really didn't want to get involved, and it was a safe bet the Decepticons were spying on the Ark.

"I don't…" I began to protest only to be cut off by the girls' squeals.

"This is so cool." Ashley exclaimed.

"Getting to see a real alien spaceship." Deidre added a huge grin spread across her features.

"But won't Jerrica be worried?" Ba Nee asked timidly; though the others were too excited to pay attention to what she had to say.

"Can we Daddy, please, please, please." Amy pleaded bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Now just hold on." I cut in causing the girls' faces to immediately fall. "Just what makes you think any of you are coming with me?" I demanded with a raised eyebrow; each pair of eyes adopted pleading expressions, I tried to remain steadfast in my resolve unfortunately I could never say no to Amy and if I only took her the other girls would be jealous.

"You don't have a choice." Ashley pointed out in a sly tone. "Everyone else is gone." She added slyly.

"But thirteen… Scratch that, fourteen people can't fit in two cars." I exclaimed with a sigh. "And I really didn't want to drive the Starlight Express today; not all the way to Oregon, plus there's the very real danger of Decepticon spies." I pointed out. "They already think I died fighting Reflector; thanks to my reprogramming job on Buzzsaw's memory circuits, I don't relish being revealed to actually still be alive just this instant, especially not when Megatron has already proven he has no qualms about hurting all of you to get to me." I added dejectedly; it pained me to think I could wind up being the cause of even one of these girls' deaths.

"Fourteen." Wheeljack remarked blinking in bafflement; which seriously looked weird on a giant robot, no matter which way you slice it.

"Whose the fourteenth person?" Ashley whispered aside to Deidre who shrugged incomprehensibly.

"I think I got an idea." Brawn stated before anyone else could speak. "Now this is a rather unorthodox request and all that, but it's important we get some readings on you, seeing as how no humans have ever ingested Energon before right Wheeljack." He elaborated turning to regard his friend; the other Autobot nodded dumbly, I too couldn't help but agree with that assessment. "So we'll let all your charges come with you; and arrange a special transport so any Decepticon spies don't pick you up." He elaborated; I couldn't believe it, Jerrica would not be pleased, but I could no more leave the girls behind then transform into the Death Star. A rather odd comparison; though it felt appropriate for some reason, reluctantly I nodded accepting this decision.

"How?" Wheeljack demanded; Brawn shot him a wink and mouthed the word Jetfire. "Oh." He muttered apparently ashamed he'd forgotten the Autobot jet.

"Then we can all go?" Amy wondered hopefully; I sighed still reluctant to give in, but realizing there were no further excuses.

"Very well; since the Autobots are willing to allow it, go get the others I'll get my friend, I think I just saw her car pull up." I relented slipping inside to the cheers of the girls.

"I'll call Jetfire; you warn Prime." Wheeljack stated in a low whisper that only I heard; Amy too most likely, but I couldn't be sure with all the squealing the girls were doing. I headed upstairs at a quick pace when no one was looking and dashed into my room to claim a specially wrapped package; then I slipped unnoticed into Jerrica's room.

* * *

Synergy greeted me with a smile and I couldn't help, but smile back; time to introduce the girls to Synthia.

"The girls have insisted on accompanying me to the Ark; thus I felt it wise for there to be twice the adult supervision." I stated in as serious a tone as I could muster; though secretly I wanted to shriek myself with the excitement I was feeling, I was going to see the Ark up close and personal like. "So I think it's time I present you with a very special present; I finished them last night after putting Amy to bed." I explained with a warm smile.

"Oh Al." Syn exclaimed eyeing the earrings with obvious joy. "They're perfect." She complimented. "I'll be right there; no, better yet take them to the front door, but let me just tie them into my systems first." She hastily reconsidered; I nodded and after a minute slipped out of the holographic wall and floated over the railing so I could reach the front door unobserved. Once I was outside where I couldn't be seen I waited patiently; within seconds Syn's human guise appeared and claimed the earrings for the first time, she was wearing blue jeans, a dark purple tee and a rich velvety looking jacket, she really must like purple.

"What's with all the purple?" I wondered curiously.

"Just used to it I guess." She returned kissing my cheek in a friendly manner, which still took me by surprise; of course that's when the supersonic engines roared out.

"Man Jetfire is fast." I observed leading Syn out around to the back where the girls were already waiting gaping up at the Autobot warrior's impressive stratospheric jet form.

"Oh wow." Anne whispered catching sight of the gorgeous Synthia.

"Who's she?" Lela wondered curiously and yet with a hint of suspicion in her tone.

"This is Synthia; a close friend of Jerrica's who agreed to take my place when I leave at the end of the week." I replied with a small smile. "She was just on her way here to meet all of you when I decided to call the Autobots." I added wondering if that sounded as cheesy to them as it did to me.

"All aboard!" Brawn called from the entrance ramp; Amy rushed forward leading the others who raced inside, I shook my head with a sigh only to realize I was alone, Syn had charged off as well.

"Hey!" I exclaimed leaping into the air. "Wait for me." I threw in just for the sake of releasing some of my pent up childishness.

* * *

Cobra Commander was sipping his afternoon tea; a habit he'd unfortunately adopted in recent years, when the communications device to his left buzzed for his attention. Slipping the hood back down to cover his facial features he deftly responded curtailing the urge to scream at this interruption.

"Speak." He ordered deigning neither to acknowledge the underling by name or rank.

"Reports have been brought in sir; Rutherford is currently speaking with the Autobots and estimates are that they will most likely attack within two days time." The Tele-Viper replied. "And Mindbender is eager to unveil his latest plans to tap into genetic engineering." He added almost as an after thought.

"Excellent; inform our camera crews to be ready, I have a feeling Rutherford will be most interested in seeing this." The Commander returned. "And kindly inform Mindbender that I shall be down shortly." He added feeling in a very good mood now.

"Hail Cobra." The Tele-Viper returned before his image winked out; Cobra Commander smiled beneath his mask.

"Soon Mister Rutherford; you shall be working for me." He stated pulling up his mask and returning to his tea. "And then our beloved Emperor will no longer be a thorn in my side." He added smirking darkly as thoughts of total control ran through his mind.

* * *

Nancy leapt out of the path of the Sentinel and bombarded it with water pulses that streaked from her palms; the liquid bursts pierced the hard shell and doused the delicate workings, this version was one of the oldest and hadn't been enhanced with water proof shielding. Oh how she wished she could fly like Storm or Jean; this was a tougher physical workout then her karate classes with Aja, but it was worth it. The second Sentinel came out of nowhere forcing her to somersault out of the way of the energy blast; at least martial arts taught you to be self aware of your surroundings, erecting a barrier of water she repulsed the blasts, it was amazing how dense liquid could be.  
This was actually more fun then she would have thought; a pity she couldn't have her own private one when she returned to Starlight Mansion.

"I believe that's enough for now." Xavier called as the simulation ended and she found herself in the danger room again.

"Great." She rasped as Logan came in with a bottle of water. "Thanks." She gasped after gulping down half the contents.

"You're pretty good kid; I think next time we should test ya out in a team environment." He suggested; Nancy's eyes widened at that, but she swallowed her fears.

"Fighting alongside the X-Men?" She wondered; Logan chuckled and actually ruffled her hair.

"Maybe." He conceded; Nancy grinned at that, she was secretly dying to see the adult mutants in action.

* * *

Jetfire was huge; and when I say huge I mean it, the Autobot warrior was a hell of a lot taller then I thought he'd be. And when compared to the actual size of the Ark… Well let's just say two-dimensional cartoon images did not do these guys justice when compared to real life.  
Brawn led Syn and all, save Amy, on a tour of the place while Wheeljack took us to the main repair facility; the Ark's golden hued colors really showed just how alien this place was. And it was in relatively better shape then the cartoon version; it looked almost space worthy, though if the Beast Wars were a part of this universes Cybertronian history then the engines were probably blown out.

"Teletran-One should be able to help us out in discovering any side effects to your little meal." The Autobot scientist stated; I nodded expecting as much, Amy tagged along behind eyes wide and full of wonder as she took in the sites.

"Gotta hook me up to anything?" I wondered; not that I'd especially mind, but Cybertronians were a lot larger then humans and their equipment might crush me under the weight.

"Nah; normally we'd probably have to, but our equipment isn't properly calibrated for organics." He returned with a shrug; the fin-lights on the side of his head were almost hypnotic, glowing as they did with every sound he uttered, it was certainly different when you didn't have a mouth, but rather a faceplate. "A general surface scan should help us out, but I'll need a sample of your nanoprobes to better understand the mechanics of it all." He elaborated; I nodded in comprehension and removed a small glass vial from my pocket.

"I figured as much." I began. "That's why I had Jerrica get me a few things from one of the medical kits." I added handing the object to Wheeljack who gently took it; his fingers were so large compared to my own I was amazed he could even handle such a delicate object.

"Blood sample." He guessed; I chuckled.

"Yeah; you know I've got access to some pretty impressive technological devices." I admitted careful not to outright say the word Tricorder. "Unfortunately they couldn't; or I should say it couldn't break down and clarify the base composition of the Energon." I elaborated as Wheeljack slid the vial into a section of the computer that appeared cobbled together from other sources, it was obviously a scanning interface combination of some kind.

"I'm not surprised, it's a highly concentrated form of varying energy sources; deciphering it takes inherent knowledge of Cybertronian descent." The Autobot scientist revealed pulling up an image on the main monitor; Amy squealed fearfully and leapt at me, I barely managed to catch her as she buried her face in my chest.

"It's just a magnified image sweetie; that's one of our nanoprobes." I explained in a soft and gentle voice.

"Oh." Amy returned feeling a might foolish; Wheeljack meanwhile was studying it up close stroking his metallic chin in thought.

"This is rather complex for an Earth made construct." He noted curiously. "These protocols… Assimilation, Self replication, Repair and Recalibration… For all intents and purposes you should have been stripped of your free will by these automatons." He pointed out; suddenly one section was enlarged even further and a string of computer code flashed past.

"What was that?" I wondered confusedly.

"Teletran was drawing my attention to an aberrant strain of computer code; these little buggers have more then simple binary controlled processors." He informed; I shook my head in silent wonder.

"I always knew these suckers had a mind of their own." I stated in a low tone. "They're like a symbiotic life form; I wonder if that's because of good old Q or the Queens experiments?" I mused in a tone too low for the Autobot to hear; Wheeljack studied a schematic, this one revealed the internals and the Energon, presumably.

"I think I've figured this out." He stated shortly after the image became a wire frame highlighting several key areas. "Your nanoprobes were created to render all forms of energy into a useable source; basically they accumulate certain things and redirect it for use in whatever task is at hand." He elaborated.

"I know how they work." I retorted; he eyed me slightly before resuming his explanations.

"There is one crucial flaw; they are constantly expending energy destroying older nanoprobes and creating new ones, or self-replicating." He remarked. "Usually this means you must constantly regenerate; however Energon is designed to run for longer periods of time, we Autobots only need to recharge every few days." He stated flicking through images almost faster then I could follow them. "When compressed into a smaller human form the results are maximum energy reserves and minimum expenditure of said resources…" Here he paused as if getting a sudden idea; probably thinking about the possibilities, in other words the Micromasters.

"So basically you're telling me that my body has managed to store these reserves for later use and greater efficiency." I reiterated having figured out this much before; Wheeljack nodded and began to feed data into the computer.

"But is it dangerous?" Amy asked impatiently.

"That information escapes me at the moment." He replied. "However we can easily figure that out; I'm running the calculations of long term exposure now." Amy sighed and looked around for a place to sit; the Autobot Jazz had come in sometime earlier and quickly assumed vehicle mode.

"Hop in little lady and let Jazz give your legs a rest." He stated; Amy smiled gratefully and climbed in, I remained standing examining the readouts as they flew across the screen.

"More data required." Wheeljack muttered frustratedly; I sighed and shot out my tendrils.

"Maybe a direct interface and access to all the knowledge I possess would help." I suggested; Wheeljack nodded and slid open a port, which I promptly jacked into. Teletran-One was very different from Synergy; or for that matter human made computers, there was an intelligence behind it more sophisticated then Federation technology. But it was still less then intelligent of an actual living machine; or so it felt, Teletran instantly began to calculate and text literally scrolled through my mind in native Cybertronian, a truly alien language. I couldn't translate it, but I really didn't feel like taping into Teletrans' memory banks to decipher it.

"Data gathering complete." It stated; I disconnected and eyed the screen curiously. "Extended use of Energon in technorganic subject has no deadly side effects; Energon is acceptable substitute energy source for nanoprobes. Energy stores will last approximately two and a half weeks to three and a half weeks depending on energy expenditure." Teletran revealed; I let out a tiny sigh, the dreams I'd been having of late were not indicative of my imminent destruction.

"There we have it." Wheeljack re-emphasized; I nodded and turned to the Autobot.

"Thanks." I returned with a smile. "This information will definitely put my mind at ease…" I paused as a thought hit me with the subtlety of a freight train. "You know Energon cubes might come in handy in the future." I mused grinning like a kid.

"I don't think giving you Energon would be a good idea." Wheeljack pointed out. "We don't want you to develop dependency on the substance." He added; I nodded in reluctant agreement.

"I guess we'd better get back before anyone else does." I stated causing Amy to hop out of Jazz.

"I'm sure my main man Jetfire will be happy to get you back." Jazz began converting back to robot mode. "But maybe you should stick around a little longer and introduce yourself to Prime." He added.

"No!" I practically cried taking the Autobots, Amy and even myself by surprise. "I'm sorry, but no; I've got promises to keep and besides… I don't relish explaining things to Optimus just now; I have a strong feeling we might be meeting again before the year is over." I explained accompanying my words with a deep sigh; the Autobots seemed to pick up on things and Jazz shot us a smile.

"No problem." He stated. "So why don't we find Brawn and your other charges." He suggested resuming vehicle mode; I beamed with giddy joy and climbed into the driver's seat.

"Sure thing Jazz, but let's take the scenic route; I've got some intel that might prove useful to you guys concerning the Decepticons and their hold over the Gabor Oil Platforms." I revealed with a knowing smirk; Jazz didn't say anything at that, but he did rev his engine in obvious surprise. And then he sped off leaving Wheeljack alone; the Autobot scientist studying the information I'd already supplied most intently. "_I don't believe it; I'm the precursor for the creation of the Micromasters in this universe._"

* * *

The girls were chattering with excitement at the wonders they'd seen as Jetfire transported us back to Starlight Mansion; none of the other Autobots actually came with us, they had a lot to think about after all the information I'd supplied.

"I take it, it went well." Syn observed sitting next to me; it still felt odd seeing the hologram looking so lifelike, after sharing minds she really felt like a sister to me.

"As much as can be expected." I returned with a genuine smile. "I'm fine; no lasting effects are to be expected." I elaborated; Syn smiled and patted my leg with the barest minimum of affection, I bet she felt as if I were a brother after all she had called me little brother this morning, and I really didn't mind. What me and the Delaney's had, had was very similar, but in truth Syn knew me intimately; as if we really were fraternal twins or something bonded by blood. I really had always wanted a sister; I'd even told the Delaney's as much, but I'd never thought I'd wind up being adopted by a Maximal who was a holographic generating computer. I glanced around Jetfire drinking in the fact that we were inside a living mechanism; and an awed smile spread across my lips.

"I suppose holographic Decepticons can't compare to the genuine article." She whispered in a low tone; I smiled amusedly.

"You have no idea." I returned. "Then again maybe you do." I added with a sly smile. "How's it feel interacting with your ancestors?" I teased; Syn's cheeks flushed slightly.

"I'm trying not to think about it actually." She admitted; Amy shifted suddenly and gave me a kiss on the cheek surprising me.

"Thank you Daddy." She stated; the other girls all chorused similar praise and I grinned.

"You're quite welcome." I returned humbly. "I just hope Jerrica doesn't kill me." I added conspiratorially for Syn's benefit who smiled secretly; I had no idea she was actually relating things to Jerrica at work.

* * *

Al smiled as he returned to the living room camera in hand; Amy squealed happily and clapped her hands, now she could see a real concert in person, well at least a videotaped version. The girls smiled too; they loved Jem and the Holograms concerts no matter what, Al began to hook the camera up while the girls got some popcorn and set themselves up around the room on couches and chairs.

"Daddy; are we going to see the whole concert?" Amy wondered; Al smiled and nodded.

"As much as you want; though if you get tired with it I'll understand." He returned; Amy giggled and plopped down next to Ba Nee and Terri, Terri nervously reached out and touched Amy's tail out of curiosity. "Oh; don't touch it like that." She exclaimed shuddering with slight pain.

"Oh I'm sorry did I hurt you?" Terri wondered apologetically.

"Not too much, but my tail's kind of sensitive there; I bruised it before coming here." She revealed; Terri nodded accepting that and then settled herself down.

"Can it grab things?" Ba Nee wondered innocently; Amy giggled and nodded wrapping it tightly around the other little girl's waist. "Wow; that's really soft." She exclaimed brushing her fingers over the coiled tail; Deidre and Anne were giggling uncontrollably at this innocent display, obviously their slightly more adult minds had developed naughty thoughts surrounding what the younger girls were talking about.

"OK!" Al called shooting a patented death glare at the closet lesbian couple; they instantly sobered up. "Time to start this show." He stated clapping his hands together before turning on the camera; an image of the stage popped up along with Jem and the Holograms wearing their special Glitter N' Gold outfits.

"Thank you all for coming here tonight to help with this wonderful charity event." Jem began to talk. "We're here to not only entertain you, but hopefully get you to see the importance of donating money to help out all of the orphans of not only our fair city, but all cities everywhere." She stated smiling slightly; the girls' scooted forward eager to hear the first song, Jem nodded to her band and they began to play the music softly.  
"And now we'll start off with a song we wrote several years ago in happier times." She finished before closing her eyes and losing herself to the beat.

"Here comes gold, Glitter 'N Gold!" Shana began.

"Here comes gold, Glitter 'N Gold!" Aja came in on the second beat; their dual voices ringing out in perfect pitch.

"Here comes gold, Glitter 'N Gold!" Kimber jumped in. "Gold, Gold!" All three sang softer; then Jem came in and the girl's all cheered.

"Doesn't it make me a sight to behold? Turnin their heads with threads made of gold truly outrageous, and beautifully bold! Gold! Here comes gold, Glitter 'N Gold! Here comes gold, Glitter 'N Gold! Here comes gold, Glitter 'N Gold! Gold, Gold!" The group sang; the shot of the camera changed angles and an image of the Starlight Girls appeared boppin' along with the beat, Lela groaned and Ashley sighed.

"Did you have to tape us too?" She asked during the brief lull; Amy made a shushing noise and swayed slightly in her seat as though she were dancing.

"Turnin' a new page and burnin' the old don't ever think my heart has turned cold I'll tell you right from the start, even when we're apart you'll always be in my heart! Whoa, Go Gold!" The band sang; Al smiled as he lost himself with the memory of that night, it had been when Rogue and he first shared a bed though he never really knew about it until the morning. "Here comes gold, Glitter 'N Gold! Here comes gold."  
"Go Gold!" The Holograms sang in the background. "Glitter 'N Gold! Here comes gold, Glitter 'N Gold! Gold! Watch and you'll see how the others all fold; when I astound them with Glitter 'N Gold truly outrageous, and beautifully bold! Gold!" Jem looked really good as she sang the song; a real professional despite the cheers from the fans or even the occasional jeer from a naysayer who'd slipped in the back door. "Here comes gold, Glitter 'N Gold! Here comes gold **Go Gold!**, Glitter 'N Gold! Here comes gold, Glitter 'N Gold! Here comes gold!" The song ended and Al zoomed in on Jem's face as she shot the crowd a beaming smile; despite this being relatively new to him his camera work also looked professional, but it was hard for a living computer to mess up when he could calculate the best angles and moments to change the focus and all that so that you could see different images.

"Oh good; the next song is my favorite." Becky exclaimed.

"Shhhh; I want to hear this." Amy complained with a pout; Al chuckled and crossed his legs so he could hover off the floor while he held the camera, his legs were getting tired from all the standing.

* * *

The rest of Wednesday went by in a blur; I could recall nothing of great import after we watched the concert, Amy pretty much went to do her own thing with Terri and Ba Nee leaving me alone to figure out what to do for dinner. Jerrica and the others looked really wiped out from work so I volunteered to stay up a little later and let them go to bed early; Jerrica was grateful for that, and as soon as the girls were all in their rooms I made sure the house was secure before returning to mine. Amy was already asleep; I wasn't drained of energy, but I was wiped out, talking to the Autobots and having to be so secretive around them admittedly stressed me out. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow; and then the dream came a second time, but this dream was different from the first I'd mentioned to Syn.  
I saw a young girl flowing as though of water, and another woman with spider powers fighting a massive alien machine of some kind, I couldn't make it out due to the foggy shadows. Amy, as an adult came to me in tears because someone close to her had died and she showed off two little bundles, which could only be my grandchildren, but I couldn't see them clearly either. I did not understand what I was seeing; I tried to see clearly what was happening all around me, but it flashed by so fast in a swirling eddy it was almost as if I was seeing the image through an ancient filter.  
Images of a different sort flashed across my minds' eye; Autobots, the X-Men, a creature of shadows and darkness flaring up against a great javelin of pure light. Strange things barely recognized and lost instantly; I could recognize a few things, like Rogue's face or Spider-Man's fist, but soon they flashed by so fast I couldn't even tell what was human and what wasn't. Finally I awoke in fear; shock and surprise, these dreams were really starting to bug me, mostly because I didn't have a clue as to their origins, they weren't like the prophetic dreams I'd experienced before these were more vivid, clearer and lasted a hell of a lot longer. I lay in my bed attempting to decipher the meaning of this particular dream; until I lost all true sense of my surroundings and dozed off once again plagued no further by nightmares or whatever they were.

* * *

And at the same time Nancy awoke with a start in her bed at the Xavier mansion and let out a strange sobbing sound; she could not remember the dream that had awakened her, but she wanted to; for some reason she felt as though someone was watching over her and that she should be able to figure out this possibly important dream. But almost as soon as she awoke she tumbled back to sleep forgetting what had troubled her so much; and the one watching over her smiled darkly, for he knew no other way to smile, in time Nancy would come to remember and understand what she had experienced, but for now she must forget.

* * *

Much to my surprise Syn woke me the next morning with an urgency that defied reason; I mean there really wasn't much planned to be going on the rest of this week, as far as I knew.

"What's wrong?" I wondered curiously getting dressed in front of her without even thinking; she was a computer after all technically speaking, even if she was a living Maximal trapped in the form of a holographic generating computer.

"Nothing, Jerrica sent me to get you; we need help with some luggage." She explained in a soft whisper so as not to wake up Amy; my darling daughter stirred slightly in her sleep and turned over.

"Luggage?" I wondered yawning slightly as I happened to notice what time it was; those dreams were seriously starting to annoy me considering they seemed to sap my energy while I slept.

"Raya has finally returned." She simply replied before slipping out the door; I yawned once again stretching as I followed after the younger, or was it older woman? Getting downstairs I saw a pile of suitcases and Jerrica was hugging another young woman that I failed to recognize; she was of Mexican descent with a slightly lighter complexion then some Mexicans I'd met at Tony's gala two weeks ago, her hair color looked to be a light shade of orange or perhaps pink, though I doubt it was natural.

* * *

It really didn't surprise me much that I couldn't place her face to my memories; many of the episodes of Jem I could remember were the earliest ones, the young woman pulled aside from Jerrica and shot me a surprised look.

"So this is Al." She stated running her eyes over me and apparently studying me; someone had been gossiping about me apparently.

"Raya." I returned breaking out in a wide smile as I glanced briefly at Jerrica. "I sure hope you and Rio have a few sons one of these days, but I fear for their sanity." I stated with a wide smirk; the look of shock on Jerrica's face made me almost laugh aloud, but I knew that would be highly inappropriate of me. With a snap of my fingers; acting slightly as Q might, the suitcases levitated under my carefully attuned skills orbiting around me like a slew of small moons. "Where to?" I asked; Jerrica was still too flustered to talk, but Kimber came to her rescue.

"Right at the top of the stairs and twelfth door on the right." She replied hiding her smirk from her sister.

"Right, right." I repeated surprising myself by adopting a strange buzzing voice almost; then I quickly made my way upstairs with the luggage in tow, so to speak. My watch rang suddenly and I eyed it annoyedly; who on Earth would be phoning at this hour? "_And why did I ever install that stupid communication feature?_"

"Answer the phone." Terri grumbled half asleep before slamming her door; I shook my head and used my tendrils to answer the call.

"This better be important." I stated in an almost low hiss; I heard Logan growl on the other end and I sighed; now I'd gone and irritated him.

"Good mornin' to you too Kilowatt." He returned with a barely perceptible chuckle; ok so maybe he wasn't upset with me. "The Professor and I just thought we'd let ya know, Nancy is comin' home for dinner." He revealed.

"But…" I began to stammer clearly surprised; by now I'd gone into Raya's room and gently lowered the luggage to the floor next to the bed.

"She's achieved total control, enough that she trained with some of us yesterday." Logan revealed; I nearly dropped the last of the suitcases, which I'd been putting down just then.

"How?" I demanded closing the door as quietly as I could; it having been left ajar slightly when I first came in, I didn't want to wake anybody up if I inadvertently started cursing loudly.

"Q." Logan spat; I hissed and felt my eyes narrowing, I could just bet how he did it too, that odd connection I'd felt briefly for some reason back in the theatre.

"I see." Came the simple reply; Logan said something I didn't truly register just then and hung up, I headed back to my room to better wake myself up with a nice shower and silently wondered what else could happen before the end of the day.

* * *

The man known simply as Snake Eyes was watching the other carefully; he had been sent to keep this one out of trouble, but also to discover what exactly Storm Shadow hoped to accomplish in Los Angeles. The Cobra ninja was currently wearing a long white coat covering up his typical white Gi; a uniform he never seemed to be without, he was wearing this obviously out of place ensemble for a reason though. This Gi however was lacking the ever present Cobra insignia, which proclaimed his true allegiance; and his mask was not present instead he was wearing a simple pair of dark sunglasses to cover his eyes. He glanced up at the building and the grounds surrounding it; his eyes darted around seeking for the possible entrances and exits, Snake Eyes knew who was staying there, and he knew he could not go anywhere near it, but Storm Shadow was his true quarry not the man hidden within and so he should be granted some bit of leniency.  
What the silent ninja was unaware was Storm Shadow's motives for coming here; fingering the tiny device he'd been presented with he considered what was about to happen, tomorrow it would all go as planned. Now the only problem was getting rid of his shadow, which really wasn't much of a problem at all in the long run; Thomas Arashikage smiled and offered a brief salute to the expansive manse.

"We shall see each other again Mister Rutherford; honor demands that I fulfill my commander's orders, and I shall ensure that our deal with your newfound friends the Misfits' final outcome is revealed to you." He stated softly to himself before placing both hands in his pockets and heading off back towards the nearest bus station; he was going to have to come up with a very convincing secondary target in order to get his sword brother off his back.

* * *

The Starlight Girls were very excited by Raya's return; as evidenced by the chatter at breakfast and Raya seemed entirely pleased and heart warmed by their presence, a sadness in her eyes was barely noticed by those around her with exceptions of Synthia and Allan. Amy was obviously nervous about exposing herself to another strange person; Raya however put the girl at ease right off by hugging her strongly in greeting, then of course she formally introduced herself to Al.

"Carmen Alonso, but everyone calls me Raya." She said; the young man smiled and secretly did his best not to overreact, he knew now there had to be close to twenty women and girls living in the house, his male testosterone levels were feeling highly threatened.

"I'm surprised none of the Holograms or Misfits have tried to pick you up." She spoke openly causing Kimber to choke on her water; Raya quirked an eyebrow knowingly, but the ever present Syn spoke up first.

"What brings you back Raya?" She asked taking a bite of the fake holographic meal she'd created, which looked very awkward to Al; he couldn't believe she was managing so well when everything in front of her wasn't a hard light hologram as she was.

"Can't a girl get homesick?" Raya returned not truly answering the question; Aja eyed her strangely and Al did his best not to draw attention to the obvious tremor he heard in her tone, it wasn't easy his big heart was already considering Raya a friend and he didn't like to see them upset or sad.

"You know." Al suddenly spoke up; surprising himself by breaking from his usual silent observer during the mundane meals shared in the dining room, which wasn't as fun as the kitchen because it was just so lavish and made him feel obviously out of place. "I'm quite curious about your work Jerrica, just how hard is it in the music industry?" He asked striking up a topic of conversation that actually interested him slightly.

"Tougher then you can imagine." She replied with a genuine sigh. "We've got a lot of competition nowadays; and all those internet pirates really up the ante." She elaborated taking a bite of her meal.

"No big surprise there." Al muttered under his breath; though he wasn't being careful and the others clearly heard him. "Quite frankly I never did like paying fifteen to twenty bucks for three decent songs out of a good dozen or so when I could buy…" The man trailed off in sudden shock and obvious nervousness as he came to the realization that he'd almost blabbed a very carefully guarded secret, specifically about the fact that in his youth he'd collected Transformers toys, which didn't exist on this Earth.

"Daddy tends to ramble on when he shouldn't." Amy remarked shooting him a wide smile and some supporting feelings through their telepathic bond, which took him by such surprise that he broke into a goofy smile.

"_Thank you little one_." He thought to her; her smile grew warmer and she nuzzled up against him in between bites of her meal. "Er; I must apologize for that." He added speaking aloud for the benefit of the others. "Sad to say I never was big on listening to or collecting music, too many good books to read; and write for that matter. Though I haven't done that for quite a while." He added more to himself then the others; a brief expression of wistfulness crossed his features as memories of a lost innocence and youth flooded his thoughts.

"You write books?" Raya wondered sounding surprisingly interested; the young man offered a shy smile.

"Er; not as such, more like used to." He replied rubbing the back of his neck. "And they were more like super long short stories or series based on certain… Things." He elaborated careful not to reveal the ultimate unbelievable secret; it was bad enough Rio got a little overprotective about their trip to the Ark the other day; he didn't need them looking at him as some kind of alien or something.

"A pity." Raya muttered in a tone that was far more let down then what they were talking about warranted; Al eyed her curiously, she was obviously trying to avoid talking about herself.

"Any big plans for today?" Shana interrupted looking concernedly towards the resident babysitter; she'd been a little put off by the visit as well, the Decepticons were really rather dangerous after all.

"Not that I'm aware of." Al replied; then he suddenly recalled Logan's call from earlier that morning. "Besides… Um; Nancy's coming home today." He mumbled lowering his gaze to the table like a little boy who'd been caught doing something wrong; everyone grew quiet at this, Raya eyed them all puzzled she hadn't been let in on the whole Nancy being a mutant thing.

"Is she…" Joellen began to ask trailing off unwilling or uncertain about saying what she feared the most.

"Different?" Marianne supplied knowing the other girl was too frightened of using the word, but she'd already broken some bridges with her friend; no sense beating around the bush.

"Haven't the foggiest." Al returned glancing back up to the group and offering a large encouraging smile. "Logan just said she'd achieved total control, no thanks to Q… Er, Quentin." Al added quickly recovering from his almost faux pas; Syn literally dropped her fake fork in shock, fortunately no one noticed it disappearing or the absence of a clatter.

"Why would…" She began to ask; Al let out a very deep sigh and actually laughed more to disperse his own internal tension rather then anything else.

"If I knew the reasonings behind how my **friend** operated, I would be a God… Like Thor or something." He stated knowing full well that at one time he actually had been; well someone with his body, but lacking his soul had been at any rate, strangely enough he began to reminisce about Xena and wondered what point of her adventures she was experiencing even at that moment.

"At least she'll be home among friends." Jerrica stated; Raya slammed her glass down finally fed up with all this stepping on eggshells.

"All right; will someone explain or do I have to wait until Nancy actually get's back here?" She demanded; Kimber shot her a tiny smile of apology and leaned closer to whisper in her ear, the look on her face was one of pure pity and sudden embarrassment. For the rest of breakfast everyone stayed pretty much silent; until everyone had almost finished, that's when Al's watch began ringing again and everyone shot it curious excited looks remembering the last time he'd used it.

"By the pit." He cursed slipping both his tendrils out unthinkingly and waving them around angrily before using the left one to activate the call answer function. "Can't you use a normal damn phone like everybody else?" He growled thinking it was Logan again and not caring if he upset or enraged the man.

"Sure I suppose; if you want to pay long, long, long, looooooong distance." A decidedly unwanted voice replied; Al's eyes narrowed sharply and he really couldn't help himself, he'd seen Q more times then he'd cared to already and he was just so tired of it all, so he let out a very exact approximation of the roar of the Tyrannosaur from Jurassic Park and began to curse in Klingon.  
"Hello to you too." The caller returned when Al finally finished his tirade. "And I'm sure glad those girls aren't fluent in Klingon, but then again I doubt anyone there is geek enough; aside from you, to even bother learning the language." He added in a haughty tone of voice.

"Must I forever be tormented by the omniscient overseer of the decidedly less then stellar Continuum?" Al exclaimed speaking still in Klingon to avoid scaring the girls or spilling the beans; of course he was actually succeeding in scaring them anyway because his approximation of Klingon was terrifyingly accurate and he was waving his arms about like a deranged person, Jerrica smirked at the man's antics.

"I'm hurt; is this the thanks I get for taking you under my wing, ensuring you mastered your wondrous new gifts, and successfully ensured your beloved Daughter is once again in your presence?" He asked in a false tone of hurtful pride; Al rolled his eyes and switched back to English.

"As I seem to recall it's your fault in the first place that I was even picked up by those fanatical lunatics, gifted with these wondrous powers, and ultimately cursed with a life span considerably lengthier then a normal mans." Al shot back in a sarcastic tone of voice. "Incidentally; in case this is about the you know what, I'm fine, more then fine I'm fully charged and can probably look forward to it for the next three weeks, give or take. The Energon did not affect me negatively as you so feared, but I can't figure out why I'm still being plagued by those damn nightmares." He added letting some of his exhaustion through in his tone; despite his feelings towards the omnipotent pest he trusted the man enough that he knew he'd at least answer a question, if he was in the mood to do so, which was more often then not.

"Oh yes the dreams." He began sounding a little too insincere. "I should have explained that before you left; they're sort of part of your… Non-artificial gift." He admitted, which surprised the man into actual silence. "They're part of the package; one part of it is from you know whom and the other is given to you by her counterpart, the one who created… Oh now I can't go and spoil everything." He said to himself sounding as if he were smirking; wherever the hell he was that is, Al sighed and slumped in his seat.

"Get to the point already you two." Amy broke in a tiny pout on her lips. "This isn't about my visit?" She demanded; Al's face immediately darkened and energy began crackling at his fingertips.

"If it is you sickening piece of slag; I'll find one of those old raw Energon crystals and shove it up your…" Al began switching between Klingon and English as he spoke and trailing off as he seemingly recalled the impressionable young minds around him.

"Relax my young padawan." Q began; Al ground his teeth together.

"I do wish you'd stop calling me that." He said in his aristocratic toned voice; the way he sometimes switched vocal patterns and almost seemed to switch identities so much you'd think the man was schizophrenic.

"Can I finish?" He asked; Al inclined his head with an air of dismissal about him, but didn't say anything. "Good; now this has nothing to do with your precious daughter… Honestly why do you always think I'm here to tear her away from you?" He wondered sounding uninterested about the actual answer to that question.

"Because of how you tore us apart the first time, petaQ." Al spat; Amy began to cry silently as she remembered that painful separation all too clear. "You didn't even let me say goodbye, remember; and you never explained why I had to leave her behind for over six months." He added his voice raising now, Jerrica reached out; she being the closest and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, Al's eyes lost their edge and he slumped in his seat embarrassed that he'd revealed so much in front of everybody.

"Honestly; you're not getting to the point at all, give me that damn contraption." A new voice interjected; a less familiar voice, but Al knew she had to be another Q. "I'm sorry about that; he's just a little uptight because his wife isn't speaking to him **again**." She offered an apology for the collective group. "It's about Nancy; I thought you should know there's a lot riding on her, at least in certain respects, it's why we helped with her mutation… Or rather I did; it's my job, part of the ever glamorous life of a Q." She added her tone obviously indicating she was rolling her eyes at her words; Al now realized who had to be speaking, he'd never officially met her, but she had been there watching his battle with Omnibus.

"It's how we operate in these regards; Nancy needed to have those powers, and we're not going to start explaining why we do what we do for dear… You know who." Q added in a mock stage whisper; this conversation was beginning to grow tedious, Al shook his head and climbed to his feet.

"Spare me the egotistical ramblings you nihilistic parasite." He stated moving to put his and Amy's empty dishes away. "I don't care why; I don't want to know why, maybe how, but not why… Basically however you're telling me that **she** doesn't just use my kind." He added with a knowing smirk; Q began to silently fume in the background and Q laughed gaily.

"We have to tell you, about Nancy; she's linked to you now because of how we helped hasten along her mutation." She said all serious now. "It's possible that could have unforeseen consequences in the future; we don't want to meddle and check in on her to find out." She added.

"I'm guessing that's more like you're not interested, but **he's** dieing to and you're keeping him on a tight leash." I commented with a brief shrug. "Look I appreciate you letting me know at least; I was worried about what happened at the theatre and I never did get the chance to browbeat some answers out of old Q-Ball, thanks Amanda." He said using her human name.

"Well at least somebody appreciates us." Q spoke up for the second time; Al rolled his eyes.

"**Goodbye**." He snapped flicking out his tendrils again and severing the connection before either of them started going on again. "I need to vent; I wanna hit something or someone and how convenient he's not here in person for me." He admitted shooting a glance briefly to his daughter; Amy sighed and hopped out of her chair, she came over and gave him a quick hug her tears all shed. "Do we have a gym?" He asked out loud turning to the seemingly forgotten residents of his current home. "I haven't practiced my martial arts in weeks and I'm kind of… Well I'm a little…" He trailed off ashamed to admit that he was suffering from pent up anxiety and anger all at the same time.

"I'll show you." Syn replied picking up her dishes and taking them with her so no one else would try to; Al smiled hopefully and left with the holographic woman.

"You'll have to forgive Daddy." Amy apologized for her father turning to address the still seated grouping of girls and women. "He's been raised as a fighter; he was forced to do a lot of it in his past and sometimes I think he forgets how to just live normally." She added with a small sigh.

"I think we can forgive him just this once." Stormer spoke up for the group a sly smile spreading across her lips. "Pizzazz kind of had anger management problems too; at least your father doesn't throw temper tantrums and break things." She added with a wistful sigh.

"No kidding; although if I didn't know any better I'd swear some of the dirty dishes started levitatin' before he left." Roxy added with a snicker; Jerrica shook her head and Aja chuckled slightly.

"It's really understandable that he'd want to unwind though." She said. "I mean he has been catering practically to everyone else since he got here." She added as Shana and Clash began to gather up the remaining dirty dishes on the table.

"Yeah; he deserves the chance to unwind." Ashley added with a little smile; Amy smiled back before turning nervously to Jerrica.

"Can I ask you a favor?" She wondered in a tiny timid voice; Jerrica quirked an eyebrow at the unexpected question.

"That depends on what it is." She replied sagely; Amy nodded and took a very deep breath.

"When this visit is over; normally I'd have to… Go back to a safe place until the next time." She began glancing down at the floor and shuffling one of her four toed feet, which were visible through the special sandals she was wearing that morning. "But; I can't go back this time, I don't want to spend another three months or more not knowing what kind of danger's my Daddy might be getting into, but I can't stay with him because of what he has to do." She revealed; biting her bottom lip as she'd seen some of the older girls do she looked back into Jerrica's eyes, her own eyes shining with unshed tears. "If you say yes though I have permission to stay here, at Starlight Mansion." She finished taking everyone in the room by surprise, except Roxy who shot the little girl a knowing wink; Jerrica's face split in a warm smile and she reached down placing a hand on the little girls shoulder.

"You're asking me if you can live here." She said; Amy nodded hopefully and Jerrica knelt down so she could look the little girl in the face, her smile broadened. "I would be delighted and honored to have you stay with us." She replied; Amy's eyes widened with pure joy and she leapt at the elder Benton taking her by surprise with the level of affection she displayed as she wrapped her tail around her waist.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you." She exclaimed hugging Jerrica so tightly that the older woman had a little trouble breathing briefly. "You have no idea what this means to me." She added in a soft whisper; Jerrica shook her head with a knowing smile as she returned the hug.

"I think I know a little bit more then your father gives me credit for." She returned in a conspiratorial whisper; Amy eyed her warily, but Jerrica merely smiled a twinkle in her eyes.

To Be Continued; **Goodness gracious me; our champion sure does get a little touchy when he talks to Q, perhaps he should consider taking up anger management classes, or maybe just start an I Hate Q fanclup with Jean-Luc and Ben Sisko. LOL  
Anyway; what's going to happen next? I can only imagine, if you wish to find out sooner rather then later then by all means give me a nice long juicy review... Or even just a tiny small after dinner mint review. SMIRKS And so... We will return to Jem after these messages.**


	16. Chapter 16 Secrets of the Heart & Head

**Author's Notes:** I hope the length of this story isn't driving readers away; I mean it can be rather long and drawn out at times, but alas that's just how I wrote it... We are fast approaching the exciting conclusion as it stands, and you won't believe your eyes when we get there... Following Sea of TurmoilI can guarantee a lot more action; and a lot more insanity before the final confrontation with the Source of the Chaos, kinda funny though that we're this far in and you still don't know who they are let alone what they look like or even their names other then Consort and Source... Or something like that. Oh well; two more stories after this one and at least you'll know their names, I'm going for a combination shock and suspense... Anyway; enough from me, enjoy this next chapter and enjoy a good laugh at Q's insistance.

We Now return to Jem... "Did I say that right Jerrica?"

"Yes you did."

"Great." Smiles broadly.

* * *

The gym was expansive; with exercise machines, punching bags, a few small weights and a private dojo, which must have been for Aja's martial arts lessons. There were a few weapons in the dojo locked within a glass case; this made sense, since the girls could wind up hurting themselves and if Aja was a hard core study of the ancient arts then she'd like to practice with genuine weapons.  
I was drawn to a gleaming katana; swords had always fascinated me, even before my training had begun and this blade looked to be old school style, if you'll pardon the expression. Syn smiled at the child-like expression on my face; though I failed to register it, and proceeded to unlock the case.

"Syn don't, I really shouldn't be using weapons." I murmured; she shook her head and lifted the blade one handed.

"I know you brother; intimately I might add, take it." She insisted passing the sheathed blade to me; gingerly I took it, it was adorned in a simply though well worn sheath this was obviously a family heirloom of some import. The hilt was ornately carved in ivory; I could not recall if such a blade was made historically speaking, but I had history from two Earths tied up in my mind.  
Sliding the weapon from its resting place I began to feel out the weight; it was lighter then I was used to, crafted for a woman then, or perhaps ceremonial in nature. I slid the blade through the air pivoting on the balls of my feet; I flowed through several particular moves both attack and defense humming the Xena theme inside my mind. I closed my eyes feeling the air rushing across the surface of the blade as I moved and danced across the floor of the dojo, yes I had sorely needed this.

* * *

"I wonder what Al's doing?" Terri remarked innocently; the girls had moved to watch the music channel in the den, Amy had a pretty good idea though and offered a rare smile, which showed off all her teeth.

"Probably blowing off steam." She returned equally innocent. "Q… Er the man on the phone really irks him." She added with a small sigh.

"You know I've never seen him actually use his martial arts, I mean he was moving so fast when he fought those kidnappers; let's go watch." Deidre suggested; the others had nothing better to do since the music station was featuring supposed pop sensation Brittany Spears, so they readily agreed eager to avoid listening to her disturbingly annoying songs.

* * *

Jerrica and the others didn't have any work scheduled for the next four days; mostly because they had wanted to spend more time with the girls before the concert circuit started up the coming Tuesday.

"I'm going to miss them you know." Kimber stated as she put away the last of the dried dishes.

"You always say that." Shana pointed out; Aja and Raya chuckled.

"Yes, but it's still true." Kimber returned smartly.

"At least you'll get out there this year." Roxy muttered bitterly; she actually liked singing, even if the Misfits as a whole hadn't been the best of role models for little kids.

"We could always go with them." Stormer pointed out; Roxy shook her head.

"Someone besides Synergy has to watch over those little rug rats." She returned smiling secretively; who'd have guessed that she'd take a shine to watchin' out for young girls and soon to be young women?

"Who's Synergy?" Clash wondered looking up confusedly at the rest of the group; she alone wasn't in on the secret.

"Synthia's old stage name." Raya replied covering up the former Misfit's blunder; Aja took a seat at the kitchen table and smiled wistfully.

"I think I'll miss Rutherford more." Aja revealed surprising her friends; Jerrica however nodded in agreement before anyone could tease the Asian guitarist.

"It is nice to have a man around the house; and Al is such a wonderful father figure, like Rio only a tad less unreachable." She remarked; the others all found themselves nodding in agreement with that thought save Raya who didn't know the young man too well yet.

"I want to see him fight." Aja suddenly spoke up a second time.

"Yeah; you and me both, we know what he's like with powers, but I'm curious to see what his skills are like." Roxy added; Clash grinned and began to leave the kitchen, pausing mid-step to eye her friends and former enemies.

"So let's go take a peek." She said; the others all voiced their agreement and left for the gym.

* * *

I was startled by the suddenness of my blade meeting resistance and the unmistakable sound of metal striking against metal rang out clearly through the room; opening my eyes again I was surprised to see Syn a sword in her own hand, a smirk playing across her lips.

"A true opponent offers more of a challenge." She pointed out her smirk widening as my eyes narrowed slightly.

"But…" I stammered; Syn didn't exactly strike me as the type for combat, then again I knew precious little about her Maximal side.

"It may have been a few millennia, but I do seem to recall a fairly decent skill with the blade." She stated dragging her sword across mine until tip met tip, I grinned; it had been a long time for me as well since I last unwound with a decent sparring match. Sparring against a master swordsman, or swordswoman only enhanced one's own skills; forcing you to reevaluate your own style. Though whether Syn qualified as a master swordswoman was debatable at this point; I swung hard and fast, but I failed to catch her by surprise as our blades met with a resounding clash of metal against metal.  
"Predictable." She remarked with a brief nod of her head; and then she struck, I pirouetted on my feet to dodge the attack and entered defense mode, time to study her fighting style and then renew my own attack. We danced gracefully the blades ringing out; I couldn't believe how good she was, it was almost as if she was proficient in Ninjitsu, but there was a hint of alien style there that could only be Cybertronian in origin. Suddenly she broke past all my defenses and cut me; I eyed the hologram in shock, had she just did what I think she did?

"You know that was uncalled for." I stated matter of factly ignoring the already healing wound.

"What's the matter, can't take it baby brother?" She teased; there was that sibling-like attitude again, I shrugged my shoulders and took off my shirt.

"Nonsense, but if you're going to play rough I'm not risking my wardrobe." I returned tensing my shoulders slightly and preparing for round two. "And no going below the belt; sure I heal, but I doubt Jerrica would approve if I suddenly started walking around in my boxers." I added; Syn smirked before the dance was resumed, I thought absently that I heard the door opening, but dismissed it as a trick of the echoing quality of the room. Closing my eyes I proceeded to feel out my moves; slash, parry, cut, deflect, lunge, scratch, parry, deflect, cut, dodge, rapid spin, deflect, parry… "_Damn she's good_."  
This sparring match was slowly escalating into something else as my mind inadvertently wandered beyond the veil of time back to the land of ancient gods, warlords and kings. There it was a fight for survival; and part of that ingrained instinct was hard to ignore at times, Syn seemed to have picked up on that because she'd opened herself up enough to let me unwind the only way I knew how in times of great stress. And whenever Q was concerned the stress could be absolutely murder; it's why I created the Snake Eyes program on the holodeck, so I could play the part of the silent assassin and combat the forces of Cobra. Exhaustion could not exist for a hologram, but I was not so fortunate; beads of sweat mingled with the blood of a particularly annoying cut, with a battle cry I slammed her sword aside and lashed out with a high kick.

"Quite impressive, but you lack grace." She pointed out; I grinned as I opened my eyes to regard her.

"Grace; raw power is quite effective, but when necessary I can be exceptionally graceful." I returned in a strangely toned voice; slipping into a well choreographed number Xena had instilled within me for this style of sword fighting, steel met steel once again and I slowly lost myself in the new fighting style. "Kiyah!" I cried; Syn could not be intimated though, I would not yield, and admittedly it had become a game to me. Of course there was still much to be done this day; not to mention my muscles were beginning to throb with the effort, wounds healed, regular old physical exhaustion did not. Tired and fed up; I jabbed when I should have parried and I felt cold steel pierce through my flesh, I gasped at the old familiarity and tumbled to my knees, Syn looked down with sudden fear.

"Oh Primus; I'm sorry, I forget you're not as immune to exhaustion as I am." She apologized; I grimaced slightly and she quickly pulled the sword out of me resulting in a spurt of blood, there was now a collective gasp in the room which I could hear and my eyes darted to one side noticing the rather large audience we'd amassed.

"S'ok." I managed to get out between the choking gasps and the blood burbling up through my lungs; this really must have looked serious to the others, well except for Amy who came up to me and nuzzled against me.

"Oh Daddy; you really don't know how to play nice." She chastised with a little pout; I chuckled at that and forced myself back to my feet.

"Good God; we should be doing something." Raya blurted the first to not only lose her shock, but manage to voice an opinion in the deadly silence.

"Call an ambulance? What would we tell them?" Roxy shot back; the girls were hushed incapable of speech or turning away from this gruesome sight, Terri and Ba Nee were actually crying.

"Smooth Syn; real smooth, you must have known they were here." I grumbled even as the wound began to heal unseen since my back was still to the group.

"I said I was sorry." She countered defensively; I sighed deeply and turned to face the music so to speak, Kimber let out a strangled cry as everyone could now see the last of the blood flowing back into the body instead of out, and then the flesh began to knit together faster then the eye could follow.

"I did tell you I healed fast." I reminded with a sheepish expression.

"But this…" Jerrica began unable to grasp what her eyes and brain were telling her was happening.

"So that's what you meant about the longer life span crack." Stormer exclaimed remembering a piece of my conversation with Q; I smiled weakly and nodded, the others too began to realize the significance of that.

"Mister Rutherford." Terri began tentatively. "Are you immortal?" She asked; I closed my eyes with genuine pain at that, I hadn't wanted them to know that, people always look at you funny when you tell them you're going to live ten million years in the body of a twenty-three year old.

"Death's a difficult concept to talk about." Amy spoke up for me; I looked down at my little one with a genuine smile of gratitude and briefly patted her shoulder.

"Al here is not immortal." Syn spoke up surprising all of us with her show of support. "I've known him quite closely for a few years now, since he got these powers so I knew even before I hit him accidentally that he'd survive that." She added. "You see; machines don't exactly suffer the same way we humans do." She tried to explain; I smiled and shook my head.

"Allow me to put this in far simpler terms; humans can heal from cuts, machines can be repaired unless they're caught in a major explosion, and even then some machines made of tougher materials can still be fixed up… So what do you get when you combine the machines ability to be repaired and the humans natural self-repairing ability?" I asked as if this were a school class and I was teaching them a lesson; as everyday and as common as say swinging through the city skyline or turning into a giant hulking green monster.

"Oh dear God." Shana blurted covering her mouth with her hand as everything fell into place for her; the others seemed to reach the same conclusion as she had and registered this little bit of information differently, some of them eyed me with sudden understanding, others with curiosity or hidden fear and then there was Terri who remained neutral, but none of them pitied me and that was really rather refreshing.

"I think we've all had quite a shock." Jerrica spoke up. "We should prepare a big welcome home party for Nancy to help take our minds off it." She suggested; Amy wanted to comfort me, but instead she joined the others as they began to head for the exit eager to experience more new things, and I couldn't fault her for that.

"How long can you live?" Terri asked in a very soft voice bringing everybody up short; amazing how smart she seemed to be acting.

"Terri." Shana scolded obviously having figured out some things and wanting to drop this subject immediately; the pain in my eyes must have been very noticeable, and actual tears escaped briefly from their corners. Terri didn't say anything more; instead she ran up to me, surprising everyone yet again as she leapt up into my arms and gave me as big a hug as she could.

"It's ok; I'm not scared or anything." She stated surprising us even further. "I suppose even the super heroes have to deal with big life problems." She added shooting me a curious look, but a friendly smile; I laughed at that.

"Thanks little sunspot." I stated eliciting a giggle from the girl as I tickled her tummy. "But I'm not sure I'd actually be called a super hero by some people." I added; Amy came up beside me looking a little jealous, but she smiled now too.

"Honestly Daddy; you're always helping people, plus you do have powers like a super hero, why wouldn't they call you one?" She stated with a shake of her head.

"Didn't you say you were one?" Kimber added smirking slyly; Al shrugged and began to put away the katana.

"I never really wanted to be one; it's really just convenient to consider myself one for the business at hand." I returned; the others eyed me confusedly at that except Jerrica and Synergy, Jerrica proceeded to clap her hands to get everyone's attention.

"Well; this is all very interesting, but we have a welcome home party to prepare." She reminded; with a chorus of cheers most of the younger girls ran off, leaving me relatively alone to put my shirt back on, I noticed however that as they left some of the Holograms and Misfits were shooting me with yummy filled looks.

"What is it about a guy and bulging pecks?" I asked turning to Syn who was still in the room; she shrugged.

"I really don't know; I suppose the equivalent would have to be a Maximal with a firm chassis, but I never could fully grasp the reasons behind why you humans tend to be drawn towards the more, well formed of your species." She elaborated; I laughed at that and proceeded to leave the room with her in tow.

"Well; maybe you could at least explain that Baby brother crack." I spoke up causing the woman to literally blush; or at least approximate the gesture, which served to only intensify my laughter.

* * *

The Starlight household was frantically working to welcome Nancy home appropriately; Aja and Roxy, of all people, were baking cookies Nancy's favorite. Shana and Clash were helping all of the girls, with exception to the Starlighters band; in hanging up decorations, which said Welcome Home, Congratulations and even one that said We Missed You.  
Stormer was helping to set up the band's equipment for the party; leaving Jerrica and Kimber to fix lunch for the girls when they were hungry all they had to do was pick up a sandwich from the kitchen. Synthia was also hanging out with the Benton's learning how to prepare food properly and also just enjoying being with the sisters; this left Al all alone and not exactly sure what he should do to help out.

"Look out, the lamp." Lela cried from the living room; Al smiled and a simple gravitational burst caught the device mid-air halting its plunge.

"Thanks." Becky returned as she moved the lamp back; Al nodded and suddenly got a brilliant idea, rushing to his room he retrieved his camera and returned downstairs to film the preparations. Jerrica shot him a smile as he slid into the kitchen; seemingly having forgotten what happened in the gym, she brushed a strand of hair from her face as she fixed up another sandwich for Amy.

"Shouldn't you be doing something more constructive?" She asked with a brief look of distaste as she set the carnivore's diet aside.

"Video's not here, this is constructive." He defended with a shrug; Aja shook her head and resumed kneading the dough.

"Was anyone else coming?" Syn asked thoughtfully; Al blinked at the unexpected question.

"Logan never said." He complained with a sigh. "I'd suspect the Professor most likely, maybe two others… Rogue most definitely." The man guessed with a hopefulness to his tone as he mentioned his girlfriend.

"And Rio was coming by with some materials and contracts for me to look over." Jerrica added with a sigh.

"It's supposed to be no work until Tuesday." Kimber pointed out with a frown.

"I'm the manager of a business; Jem and the Holograms may be able to take off, but Jerrica Benton can't." She returned with another weary sigh; Roxy shook her head at that.

"You should try to delegate more; the world isn't full of Eric Raymond's you know." She pointed out; Jerrica shook her head.

"Dad entrusted the business to me and Eric." She murmured. "And we all know how well Eric handled things when I trusted him; plus there's my whole double identity thing." She added with a brief nod towards Syn; the holographic woman shook her head exasperatedly.

"You and Parker would have something in common." Al spoke up forgetting himself momentarily.

"Who's Parker?" Aja wondered; Al felt a knot twisting around in his stomach, now how could he explain that without actually saying anything?

"No one special." Syn replied on his behalf; the young man lowered his camera in shock his eyes widened uncertainly, Syn shot him a reassuring smile and tapped her head.

"Oh shit." Al couldn't help, but curse; everyone looked at him disapprovingly. "Sorry, it's just… Everything I know?" He wondered almost fearfully; Al had no idea how Roma would take that news let alone Spider-Man, Spider-Girl, Daredevil, Kingpin and several villains that would probably try to slice and dice him just for the hell of it.

"Only what was most prominent in your mind; him and one other, Osborn." She explained; Al let out an audible sigh of relief and moved closer to clasp her shoulder.

"Oh slag!" He yelped as he just remembered somebody else he'd recently interfaced with. "Teletran." He sighed slumping into a seat at the cluttered table. "Having selective unlimited knowledge is not always a good thing." He grumbled.

"Knowledge?" Roxy wondered; Jerrica beat the man to the punch a brief smile spreading across her lips.

"Super hero community; secret identities, am I right?" She elaborated; everyone turned to Al expectantly now and the young man nodded with the expression of one who's been backed into a corner and trapped, Aja broke into a wide bemused grin.

"Better not let Raya hear that, she's liable to grill you about Spider-Man until your ears fall off; she has such a huge crush on him, I think it's those tights, or maybe because he can web up people." She revealed giggling slightly; Al shrugged in a dismissive manner.

"He's married." He blurted without thinking; then he proceeded to slam his head down onto the table with a very loud and obvious Homer Simpson D'Oh. "He's going to kill me when he finds out… If he finds out; I could always just say I didn't tell them, they tortured me for the information." He muttered to himself in a low tone that only Synergy managed to hear, she smirked at that; Al was just too cute when he tried so hard.

"Where is Raya anyway?" Kimber wondered suddenly; the newly arrived Hologram hadn't bothered to help out in any way, and she seemed to have vanished.

"Unpacking I think." Jerrica replied; Al got up and chose to leave to film the girls some more instead, before he wound up blabbing something else, like the fact that J. Jonah Jameson was the one behind the Scorpion's birth.

* * *

Nancy was really nervous as she boarded the Blackbird; she had no idea how they'd react, and then there was her closest friend Marianne. She was afraid the younger Starlight girl would shun her; or maybe even move away because of her, and she really didn't want that, she just wanted everything to be normal again.

"Relax little sug." Rogue comforted from the pilots' seat. "It'll work out just fine." She added shooting the girl an encouraging smile.

"Da little fraulein; it shall not be so bad." Kurt broke in; Nancy eyed the German mutant warily, she hadn't gotten to know everyone that well, but she smiled gratefully at the pair of them and took her seat as the Professor joined them.

* * *

Al fell into a seat exhausted by the heavy lifting he'd just done; well ok maybe he was exaggerating a little to tease her, but Becky was still pretty heavy; the problem was no one else had been around to help her get the last sign up.

"Mister Rutherford." A small voice asked; Al glanced to his left and saw Marianne, she looked so nervous she might actually throw up any minute.

"What's up?" He asked resisting the urge to add Bugs Bunny's famous Doc.

"How…" She tried to ask; Al recalled their earlier conversation after she'd made that phone call and more importantly her earlier concerns after the call had ended so badly, with a small sigh of understanding he let the girl climb up into his lap, though she was rather timid about doing so.

"Don't know how or if you should apologize yet huh?" He asked; she shook her head yes and he chuckled lightly. "It's my experience that the best way to patch things up is to have a serious chat, coupled with apologies and even a few tears." He revealed. "Might be difficult, even painful, but if you're truly sorry for your actions; and I know you are, it'll all work out in the end." He concluded in a sage like tone and a small nod; she looked up at him with wide worry filled eyes.

"But what if she hates me?" She wondered fearfully.

"She won't hate you." He returned. "She'll be upset and afraid that she's lost a great friend; maybe even uncertain around you for the first couple of days, but true friendships can stand the rockiest of storms in life." He elaborated. "_God is that cornball or what; I'm turning into a regular Yoda or Gandalf._"

"Thanks." She whispered giving the man a little hug bravely; Al grinned goofily, that's when someone let out a squeal of surprise.

"That can't be them." He muttered. "They would have come in the back door, not the front." He added curiously climbing to his feet. It wasn't the X-Men; Rio had finally arrived with Video at just that moment and Clash had been the one doing the squealing of all people, she had really changed and turned her life around in the short time she'd spent around here.  
"Everyone and their grandmother is going to be in this house before I leave; I'm surprised Jetta didn't stick around." He grumbled in a false tone of grumpiness.

"Hello to you too." Video retorted with a smile; Al held up his camera, which he'd dragged along with him just in case and began to film.

"Hail the concurring heroine." He stated; by now he felt so in touch with these people, it wasn't at all like the acceptance of the X-Men. It was more akin to coming home again to a place filled with characters you knew and cherished; old family friends, cousins, even daughters, nieces and a sister. It was as though to him; this was his normal, sometimes get on your nerves family and the X-Men were his professional, understand you a little more because of the shared workload family.

"I haven't done anything heroic." She countered averting her gaze and blushing slightly.

"You got the cinnamon didn't you?" Roxy pointed out having joined the group at some point earlier; Video held up the tiny shopping bag, Roxy grinned and dashed off with it.

"Tonight on the League of Super Heroic Individuals News Network; Vivian Montgomery comes through at the last instant." Al quipped teasingly; Video shot him a look and Rio broke out into a hearty laugh, he'd definitely gotten over his little rivalry and mistrust of Al.

"LoSHINN." Marianne remarked in a bemused tone as she abbreviated his title into an acronym.

"A wonderful place to stay; and the service was to die for." He retorted in a semi-imitation of Groucho Marx; unfortunately no one got the reference. "Before your time." He sighed realizing that not everybody happened to have family friends that were old movie buffs.

"Everyone get in the living room; they're almost here!" Jerrica called from somewhere near the kitchen; there was a large clatter of feet as everyone rushed to comply, except Al of course he took his time. He wound up arriving with the mysteriously long absent Raya who looked red-eyed from crying; Al wondered briefly what might be upsetting her, but he knew better then the press the issue.  
The room was silent as the back door opened and Jerrica exchanged pleasantries; then she came into the room followed closely by Nancy, everyone shouted surprise and Ashley began to sing. The expression on Nancy's face was caught perfectly on Al's camera; and then he nearly wound up dropping it as Rogue rushed up to him, embraced him and kissed him hard on the lips.

"Ah missed yah." She stated by way of greeting after pulling back; Al had to catch his breath first though before he could say anything, slightly shifting the camera to get it out of the way he offered a rare moment of true insight into his soul as he blushed furiously.

"Likewise." He returned with a dopey grin; that was when Kurt decided to show up, the reaction of Amy startled him as she rushed him and gave him a big hug.

"Hi." She greeted as simple as could be, Al guessed she'd missed not being the only one with a tail; it was a rather distinguished feature after all.

"Guten tag." He returned his smile causing his yellow eyes to shine; Kimber approached Kurt nervously, the others had not stopped the party, but it was more subdued in the presence of this semi-frightening looking individual.

"Kimber Benton." She introduced reaching out a tentative hand; Kurt smiled and gallantly kissed the back of it as he bowed to the woman.

"Kurt Wagner." He informed; Kimber was blushing slightly at the attention and Al grinned.

"But in the Munich circus he was known as the Incredible Nightcrawler." He quipped eliciting an almost devilish grin from the demonic looking mutant.

"That is so cool." Deidre observed seeing Kurt's tail flick in time to the music they were playing.

"Guys; this was…" Nancy began feeling tears building up; Al offered a smile at the young girl from behind the camera, which had popped back into filming range relatively quickly. "Thanks." She got out; the Professor rolled in with Shana's assistance, Al hadn't even noticed the African-American's absence. Rogues' fingers were rubbing his back in a show of love and hidden desires; Al however was still filming everything, so he failed to reciprocate the gesture.

"I see Amy fit right in." The Professor remarked with a smile joining the two lovebirds; Al grinned as he followed his little one with the camera, who was being introduced to Nancy just then.

"Still a few more days…" He trailed off as he realized the implications of those words. "Of course you'd never know I was off Roma's clock considering the amount going on here." He added softly a light chuckle escaping his lips.

"Indeed; Decepticons, would be kidnappings, Autobot examinations. Yes you've been quite the busy bee; as the expression goes." Charles observed with a small smile; Al sighed audibly even as he continued to film the happenings all around.

"She probably planned it lahke that." Rogue stated; Al smiled as he passed the camera to Video for a view minutes so as to address his love properly.

"Indeed my lotus blossom; remember you didn't make the final plunge until I came here." He pointed out with a wide teasing grin; she batted him in the arm and ceased her one handed massage of his back.

"Careful Sugah; Ah might change mah mind again, yah know us women." She returned; Al looked into her eyes longingly, hers were pools of desire an ache also hidden there for the simplest pleasure that was intimate physical contact, Al moved closer and almost managed to kiss her.

"Excuse me, but I believe we are expected to have dinner now, Da." Kurt broke in; Al was so startled and annoyed by the interruption that he found himself hovering off the floor.

"Er; right." He concurred wondering belatedly why the Professor hadn't reacted; he was still resting beside the two a smile barely tugging at the corner of his lips, but twinkling amongst his eyes merrily, despite his misgivings he truly approved of their relationship.

* * *

The dinning room was full to capacity; thirteen girls of assorted ages and fifteen adults, it was just a good thing Jetta was busy handling the business end of things with Tony and Matt back in New York, though she'd said she'd drop by again. Fortunately there were enough chairs, plates and other assorted necessities for everyone; Amy sat with the other girls and laughed and talked along with them as if she'd always lived here.  
Kurt surprised everyone by sitting next to Kimber; who seemed quite taken by the elf, I guess chicks really did dig the fuzzy dude… Either that or they just liked the thought of that tail and what it might be capable of… Then again my tendrils were more then capable; and they were two for the price of one… "_Ok; enough of this train of thought, it's really inappropriate, not to mention disturbing_."

"Will she need further training?" Jerrica was asking as I came back with a slight shudder of disgust; when a mortal as nigh-immortal as I was made love to a certain Goddess… Well he still had nightmares about the holodeck session he'd endured; no man should ever experience that much pain and be allowed to live.

"As she grows she may wish to return and train at our facilities." Charles returned knowingly. "But from what we've seen so far she has nothing to fear about ever losing control again." He added.

"Da." Kurt agreed with a slight wince. "She is quite the tough little wunderkind." He added with a chuckle.

"I threw Mister Wagner across the room." Nancy beamed proudly; the others seemed to grow nervous at that.

"He's easy." Amy scoffed having no fear concerning Nancy. "My Daddy could probably show you a thing or two." She added in a bragging tone.

"I believe that." Nancy admitted with a show of grudging respect aimed my way. "I happened to see what he did to about four battalion of BATs." She revealed causing me to nearly choke on my latest bite.

"You didn't see…" I began trailing off at the pitying look in her eyes. "How?" I demanded turning to the X-Men.

"When she's in liquid form she can get into anythin'." Rogue revealed with a small look of apology. "Ah was just rewatchin' that fight so Ah could see yah again; if only for a bit, but when she startled mah Ah left it runnin' tah long." She explained her accent thickening; I slumped slightly and let out a very weary sigh trying desperately to ignore the concerned and curious expressions being shot my way, I hadn't told them… I couldn't tell them; they'd never forgive me for that, I couldn't lose my new friends.

"What did she see?" Jerrica asked with concern in her voice; the Professor shook his head.

"I'm sorry; that is not something we are privileged to share, please ask Mister Rutherford when time permits." He said turning to glance in my general direction. "_You can trust these people with a lot more then you give them credit for Allan; please don't keep this from them anymore, it can only hurt you in the long run if this secret stays secret from these people. They seem to genuinely care for you a great deal._" He said; there was a long silence in which everyone took a few more bites; what went unsaid was the questions I knew they wanted to ask me, the endless curiosities that couldn't be denied due to the very nature of the human mind.

"So Mister Xavier, what exactly does your school do?" Raya wondered finally breaking the uneasy silence with a topic that she could at least show genuine interest in; and the rest of the meal went by in a blur of pleasant small talk, but I wasn't paying any attention to it instead I was thinking how fruitless it was to keep secrets in this place. Ironic considering that it's owner Jerrica Benton was keeping the greatest secret of all up in her room; dessert was mostly reserved for the girls, some of the Holograms and Misfits indulged, but I wasn't so inclined lacking the mood for sweets. When it was time to leave again Rogue pulled me aside and kissed me as hard as she had upon arriving, she really didn't want to go.

"Are yah sure yah'll be alright?" She asked nervously as I rubbed her hand within mine.

"I'll be fine, besides I doubt the Prof would approve of you stickin' around." I returned with a wistful smile; we kissed again, I held her tight as long as I could and then we parted company.

"Ah love you." She whispered a little choked up.

"Take heart, we shall not be separated much longer." I returned blowing a kiss her way; with one last fond look of farewell she left, I watched as the Blackbird took off and I turned to find the entire roster of Misfits and Holograms surrounding me expectant looks on their faces, but curiosity also clear in their eyes. Jerrica and Rio both shared trepidation on their faces; concerned for what Nancy might have seen, I did not like the looks of this, but I couldn't put it off, they were really only concerned with what the girl might have seen.

"Al we…" Aja began to say; I shook my head firmly.

"Not here; upstairs, Jerrica's room." I requested; the Asian woman nodded understandingly and the group disbanded. "Low; and so we once again find ourselves trapped by our own lies, I should have confided in them when we first met, but alas I did not feel they could take such a thing." I admitted to myself; ah well there is no way I was going to jeopardize our friendship by keeping it from them.

* * *

"Why are we prying so much?" Raya asked nervously as the rather large group waited for Rutherford to show up in Jerrica's room.

"It's not that; I just don't want Nancy to have no one she can come too if she becomes afraid by what she saw, for whatever reason." Jerrica explained sitting on her bed; Rio was beside her his arms wrapped around her. "I know what it's like when you've got a secret and can't tell anyone, I'm just worried she could cut herself off again." She added with a slight frown; most of the others seemed to understand and agree with this, except Clash and Video who didn't know about Synergy.

"Do we tell him first?" Shana wondered glancing amongst the entire group uncertainly. "I mean about how we know he's really here working for Roma, that we've also been in her employ and that we've done some things we're not proud of because of it?" She elaborated; Jerrica shook her head.

"Not just yet; I'm not ready to tell him right now and I don't want him to be distracted because of it." She said somberly; Kimber laughed slightly.

"Kind of funny; us having to keep that secret from him even though he's been pouring his heart out to us, you just know when we finally do tell him he's going to top us somehow… I mean do you honestly buy what Syn and he said about how he knows so much about the Transformers? And then there's all those Star Trek references going on; and yes I know I come off as a geek for recognizing them as such." She snapped shooting a pointed glare at Roxy.

"I wasn't going to say a thing." She said innocently; Kimber however knew better.

"Quiet he's coming." Video alerted; she'd been standing next to the door, Al strode boldly into the room and instantly began to pace his eyes forever pointed at the floor.

"Before I start I just have to say I'm better now ok; I've gotten over my guilt, I know now that it really wasn't my fault, I wasn't in control of my own actions and I know I can live with it now." He stated rapidly barely stopping to breath; Jerrica rose from the bed and moved to place a hand on the young man's shoulder, which caused him to finally look up revealing the extreme nervousness in his eyes.

"We won't judge you; it can't be easy living the life of a mutant, all those enemies and even branches of our own government against all of you." She said using the lie because she knew he felt comfortable with it; he sneered briefly at that.

"We'll still respect you and call you friend you know." Kimber added looking all the world like she wanted to take the young man in her arms to assure him that no matter what she'd never stop feeling for him, even if she knew he could never return those feelings. "We've gotten to know you fairly well over the past week and a half; well most of us, and we know you have a good soul." She added choking back the urge to start crying because of the pain and confliction she saw in his eyes.

"I killed a man." He said bluntly before anyone else could offer platitudes; in truth none of them really knew him completely, not the real him, all they knew was what he'd fed them… Except of course some of what Kimber said had merits, he couldn't lie or pretend that his soul was anything else. "He was a very evil man, which is no excuse, but it's important to get that out there right out of the gate." He stated rubbing the back of his neck nervously; this seemed to subdue everyone and get their attention.  
"The Red Skull came to Westchester; he targeted me, that attack on New York was just a ruse. Somebody wants me dead; and I have no idea who, but I do have a pretty good idea why… The Avengers and the X-Men fought him, but he overwhelmed us all with Battle Android Troopers and managed to incapacitate me." He continued breathing deeply as he finally revealed the reason for why he'd taken off from New York, a lot of the women were stunned by all this, but Rio had a look of grudging respect of all things aimed squarely at this man. "Most of you know what I can heal from because of that little incident in the gym this morning, but that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface; Red Skull literally attached a bomb to my person and I was caught in a very powerful explosion. Usually when I suffer this kind of injury I enter what is commonly called stasis lock; it's the equivalent of total shut down, and my soul is sort of sealed away so I won't accidentally regain consciousness and experience all the pain such an injury would entail." He continued now going on at such a pace it was obvious he just wanted to get this out in the open and no longer be containing it in the bottle he'd sealed it away in, Jerrica rubbed his shoulder encouragingly, she wanted to say she knew exactly how he felt, they'd all been forced to kill for Roma because of the mission they'd accidentally been involved in.  
"The Avengers and the X-Men couldn't hold their own though; my nanoprobes seemed to realize that my usual healing would take too long to stop them from all being killed, Red Skull was about to execute my dearest friends and the ultimate hero team on Earth… Well no way in hell he was going to get away with that; they moved my body, what was left of it, and using a weapon of my own devising I…Terminated him… Permanent like." He finally finished running his index finger across his neck to indicate just exactly how he'd done it; a silence fell about the room as they all digested this information, Kimber rushed out of the room rather suddenly, but before she could get very far the sounds of someone throwing up could be heard. Obviously she'd gotten a very vivid picture of what Al looked like after he was blown up, Al looked for all the world like he wanted to just shrink and melt away; if this were one of those types of cartoons he'd probably be turning into a heel to show just how low he felt.

"Thank you for telling us." Jerrica said for the entire group. "Did Nancy see it all?" She wondered; Al shrugged.

"I don't really know; and I don't feel comfortable asking." He returned. "I guess I'm leaving then." He said disappointedly; Kimber returned then and upon hearing this walked straight up to him and shook her head wagging her finger in his face.

"No." She snapped although she was very pale and Al could still smell the up heaved dinner on her breath. "We said we weren't going to change our views about you and we meant it." She added.

"But… There is no way on Cybertron you can possibly forgive me for that; never mind the fact I lied about why I had to get out of there for a while, but I could have brought God knows what kinds of dangers upon you if those who sought my destruction discovered where I went." He added incredulously.

"You don't know everything we've had to do on this damn Earth." Roxy spoke up vehemently. "It's a world full of dangers; and besides if you hadn't been here those girls would have been kidnapped, who knows maybe we would have been killed by the Decepticons and then where would Nancy be?" She demanded; Al looked completely lost, what was going through his mind no one could really tell.

"Al; you're a good man, you can't be held responsible for what those machines forced your body to do while you were in stasis lock… And we all consider you to be a very good friend; I can't even begin to imagine what life would have been like if we'd never met." Rio said taking Al even further by surprise, he looked about ready to scream; this was just way too much for him.

"I gotta go; I gotta… I don't know, but I gotta go." He stated. "And relax I don't mean leaving the mansion… I can't just forget about Amy's feelings here, but… I need to clear my head." He added stopping at the doorway to shoot one last confused glance back at the others; and then he marched straight out of the room without so much as another word.

"That went well." Aja remarked with a small sigh; Raya nodded, although she didn't know the young man very well she obviously didn't have any reason to doubt her friends trust in him.

"At least he told us." Stormer countered.

"Somehow I should have expected that." Clash remarked with a sigh. "At least he only has the memory of one death to haunt his conscience." She added with a brief shudder.

"Do we tell him now?" Video asked turning to Jerrica for guidance; Jerrica shook her head.

"No, not yet; I don't think I'm ready to tell him everything about that yet." She admitted frowning slightly. "I hope he doesn't think about doing anything rash." She added glancing to where the man had been moments before and silently wishing Synergy could go watch over him.

* * *

I stood on the roof of the building watching out over the city of LA; part of me felt like Spider-Man and another like Angel, both of whom enjoyed going to the rooftops to think, I'm not sure exactly what got to me… The fact that Jerrica and the others didn't see me any different from before, which irked me a little for some reason; or the fact that I'd just told them I killed a man in cold blood and they seemed to mostly take it well with only Kimber really being upset by the mental image she got.  
And then there were the dreams; I really didn't want to blow up in front of my friends, and the lack of a serious good nights sleep the past three nights was making me a little edgy, though I wouldn't want to admit that to anyone. I stood overlooking this brilliant city recalling my last stay here and smirked slightly; Tom and the Vulcan, and Naomi, I was in charge of that little bundle of joy and I'd gone to the Disney Studios. It wasn't until much later I came to the realization that someone other then Q had to have been slightly mucking up the Captain's usual attitude concerning such things; otherwise I'd never have gotten to bring the child down, and of course I recalled meeting the irritating Rain and witnessing the first steps of the Doctor with his new Mobile Emitter, so to speak.  
Simpler times back then; before the assimilation, before the demons and before the craziness in general; I missed the simpler life; things were getting a tad over the top… Jerrica and the others acted way too much like the cartoon; they could see no wrong in me, they loved me deeply as a friend even the Misfits and part of me was starting to feel stifled by it all. That's when the scream was heard; I glanced up in sudden shock, no way was what I thought was happening was happening. Rushing over to the other side of the roof I zeroed in on the source of the scream; leaping over the lip I hovered quickly towards the source, what I found when I reached the trouble spot was something I couldn't begin to understand… Was somebody shooting a film or something?  
A short raven haired woman was cowering from a hulking brute of a man; he was dressed in something out of the late seventies and clearly didn't have much of a fashion sense, lowering myself to the ground I shot the duo a curious look.

"Ok; so where are the cameras?" I quipped out of habit; the man whirled to face me revealing a very pale face and twin fangs sticking out from the tops of his teeth, I eyed him clearly disbelievingly.

"Stay out of this; I found her first, I get to feed." He snapped in a hungry kind of tone; I eyed him with wide bemused eyes, ok so maybe this wasn't what it looked like.

"You seriously don't have a clue what I am do you?" I asked not really interested in an answer; my eyes darted about this alley searching for any discarded wooden boxes or something, unfortunately there weren't any around, real life was not as convenient as television led one to believe.

"We could always share." He remarked; I sighed and marched straight up to the undead thing, of course Marvel universes had a type of vampire, I mean they had Blade after all in most cases, and Dracula too… Fortunately this guy was not only dumb as a post, but he was nowhere near as imposing as the dreaded vampire of Stoker fame.

"Normally I'd say something witty here, but I'm really not in the mood; and I wasn't really looking for trouble, so…" I trailed off and unleashed both tendrils; their razor sharp thin status meant I could simply decapitate the monster, and as far as I knew that still worked on vampires… He was little more then dust on the wind in seconds and I offered a brief smile to the woman. "Better get home; stay out of dark alleys and uh… Avoid fashion rejects with pale complexions in the future." I suggested; the woman didn't even say anything, she simply dashed off towards the street and started waving frantically for a Taxi, I shrugged and took off feeling way too much like Angel or Buffy.  
"That was different; at least I got to kill something of the undead variety for a change instead of the living." And I had just saved somebody, it lightened my heart considerably. "I like saving people; it's a hell of a lot less stressful then lying and keeping secrets." I remarked happily.

* * *

"You owe me five bucks." Q said to his son; q grumbled something and snapped up the wager he'd made with his father.

"Like you even use that stuff anyway." He remarked under his breath.

"Shall we try and offer some more entertainment for our young padawan?" Q wondered with a mischievous twinkle in his eye; q grinned mischievously.

"Can I pick the next target?" He asked hopeful; Q smiled and placed an arm around his boy.

"Sure thing son; you deserve to have a little fun too." He stated before the two flashed off to wherever they intended to go next.

To Be Continued; **Not much action I'm afriad, but fear not I'm certain we'll be seeing a little more before the end of the story, it's angsty drama and everything... So; in the immortal words of the lead singer of Jem and the Holograms... Jem will be back after these messages. LOL**


	17. Chapter 17 Proposals and Conflicts

**Author's Notes:** As promised more action; it's Autobot vs. Decepticon like you've never seen it before... Or maybe you have; anyway here you go, and there's an even bigger surprise in this chapter.

We now return to Jem and the Holograms featuring Cobra and the Transformers... LOL

* * *

The hour was late upon my return; for the most part I'd run into two other vampires, a group of bank robbers and someone intent on committing suicide, and I managed to help a lot more people. I was totally exhausted; Amy had already gone to bed, knowing how I was feeling and everyone else was asleep too, no one stayed up to watch out for me. Which made sense; I was a grown man after all and could take care of myself, climbing into my bed I let out a very exhausted yawn, today had been a day of great distress in certain respects, but tonight had been a great stress reliever… Even if I had wound up meeting more of this world's odd creatures, amazing how easy it was to spot Vampires though, these ones must have been fledglings or something. With a very tired sigh I closed my eyes and promptly fell asleep; seemingly no longer plagued by the odd nightmares.

* * *

Synergy slipped into Al's room much later that night; as she didn't sleep she'd taken to walking about the mansion and checking in on her charges, tonight however she felt Al could use some company since Rogue wasn't here. So she sat in a chair and watched as Al and darling little Amy slept soundly; she felt a very strong kinship with the man, much like the bond between Jerrica and Kimber. A brother; a computer with a brother, wouldn't that be funny? And yet it was the closest human equivalent she could think of; they had interfaced and shared minds, true hers was less open then his had been for certain things.  
For instance her battle skills, the knowledge that there had been other stasis pods on Earth; or even her true Cybertronian name, which she hadn't shared with him because she had been prepared and managed to keep certain things to herself as was her wont, a girl had to keep some secrets after all. He already knew about the stasis pods anyway, but much like herself; he knew nothing as to their whereabouts if any others were left behind intact. She approximated a soft sigh and eyed the sleeping man proudly; he'd finally told the others about the Skull so at last they knew practically the whole truth, Kasady was another matter, but hardly as reality shattering as the Skull had been after all it had been an accident when he killed Kasady to protect Spider-Girl. Suddenly Al stirred kicking out with a strange whimper; his blanket fell slightly off his leg and he continued to make the strange whimpering noise much like a dogs. Synergy climbed to her feet and approached him; she gently rested a hand on his forehead, he immediately calmed down.

"The gift of foresight is rare." She whispered oh so softly understanding in part the source of his current predicament where it came to his prophetic dreams. "Sleep soundly little brother." She added with a smile as she covered his leg back up "Older sister will keep your demons and **him** away for one night." She whispered with a loving tone; then when she was sure he'd settled down she returned to her chair and watched over him once more, yes she'd kept many secrets from him including the fact that she knew a great deal about his future after all she'd been in his class back on Cybertron.

* * *

"Daddy!" Amy squealed snapping me awake the next day; I let out a mangled cry and flipped out of bed hand reaching for a sword I no longer carried. Amy burst into a fit of giggles; Syn shot me a smile from her position sitting in the chair near my dresser.

"Eh." I spoke groggily.

"Good morning to you too brother." Syn greeted; I tumbled off the bed trying to find a better foothold and wound up sprawled on the floor, before my sleep addled brain picked up on the endearment.

"Brother?" I repeated wondering at her use of the term for the umpteenth time; my voice muffled by the carpet.

"It is how I feel towards you; we are quite close in the human sense of the word." She revealed in a subdued tone; I propped myself up and smiled at her.

"I always wanted a sister." I admitted feeling a strong sense of deja-vu thanks to a similar conversation I'd had once before with the Delaney's.

"I know." She returned tapping her temple thoughtfully. "It's quite disconcerting having a partial set of second memories in here." She added; Amy tugged at my arm impatiently, reminding me why I'd leapt out of bed in the first place.

"Come on Daddy; the others said we were going to meet someone else today after you left." She revealed with excitement; I chuckled as I let her pick me up off the floor.

"Haven't you met enough people this week?" I wondered incredulously. "And for that matter haven't I?" I added under my breath so she couldn't hear.

"But she's a dancer Daddy; you know how fascinated I am by them." She insisted tugging me into the washroom; I shook my head at her eager enthusiasm and in point of fact I had not known about her interest, it must have developed after our forced separation.

"And today's only Friday." I spoke up over my shoulder; Syn smiled at that and shook her head, her brother did indeed have a certain way about him, then she wondered if she could ask Q about legally taking the name Rutherford so that her status as his sister would be genuine.

* * *

Today was the day; the Cobra Tele-Viper double checked the feed on his digital camera and shot the pilot and his partner a thumbs up.

"We're in position laird Destro." The pilot informed his voice thickly accented; the third occupant of the vehicle nodded.

"Excellent; the second and third units are in position, we shall move in ourselves as soon as the last of the Cybertronians departs." Destro returned; the pilot acknowledged and camera crew alpha began to film per the Commander's instructions.

* * *

They had gathered around him; his most trusted and loyal comrades, he eyed them all knowing that this mission could be the last one they ever saw, if things went bad. He marched straight down the line hands clasped behind his back as he shared a moment with each of them; resting his hand on a shoulder here, laughing at a joke there, and then he took up position next to Jetfire and raised a hand.

"Autobots; Transform and Roll Out!" He cried the famous command; and with a cacophony of sounds each and every one of these reluctant soldiers converted into vehicle mode and moved to board Jetfire's form, it was time.

* * *

"Hello Mister Witwicky; sorry for the earliness of my call." Al began speaking to the gruff sounding voice on the other end of the line.

"Eh mechanics aren't exactly late sleepers." He returned with a brief yawn.

"Don't I know it." Al returned with a light chuckle. "My name is Allan Rutherford and I'm phoning in regards to a nineteen-fifty Ford, I was wondering if you'd have parts for it?" He stated; Sparkplug Witwicky, the man on the other end of the line snorted with a chuckle.

"Yeah; I'm probably the only guy still in business with parts for'em." He returned his voice sounding proud about that claim.

"Great; I'd like to arrange a meeting, I'll be in town in about a week and a half, if that's alright with you." Al stated mentally figuring how long it'd take for his plans with Rogue and his little detour to the Pit, AKA GIJoe headquarters.

"Sure thing; I'll see ya then." He returned before saying a quick goodbye and hanging up; Al returned the receiver to its cradle just as the front door was opened.

"Jerrica." A voice greeted with love in its' tone.

"Gisselle." Jerrica returned her tone filled with equal joy and love; a woman was led into the room where Al had made the call, she was rather tall and had a certain beauty coupled with elegance and grace. Her hair was tinted with certain hues of pink and blue and she was wearing dancers' attire under her jeans and shirt, which happened to be just peeking out. "Allan Rutherford; I'd like you to meet Gisselle Dvorak." She introduced with a fond smile; the two were apparently very good friends.

"Gisselle." The man greeted shaking the woman's hand.

"Please, call me Danse." She requested; the young man grinned at that and nodded.

"Only if you call me Al." He returned with a charm filled smile; Danse literally blushed at that and offered a shy nod in return, Al certainly had a strange affect on these particular women, more so then he'd seen elsewhere in his travels.

"So why did Rio want everyone here?" Danse wondered turning to Jerrica; she shrugged.

"I haven't a clue; he's been acting oddly the past two days." She returned; Al tuned them out and trailed after them as they made their way to the primary living room. Everyone else had apparently already gathered around; Al however wasn't truly paying attention he was lost in a mental thought involving characters and how many more he'd have to meet, at this rate even the Stingers could show up.

"Hi everyone." Danse called stopping so suddenly Al nearly wound up walking into her, but caught himself just in time.

"Hey." They chorused; Shana came up and hugged her and Raya smiled weakly, she had a definite problem of her own that she was keeping to herself and Al, being ever perceptive seemed to have noticed it more then the others.

"Good everyone's here; I wanted everyone present for this." Rio stated sounding slightly nervous; he paced a little before standing right in front of Jerrica. "I've been thinking a lot about us the past few weeks Jerrica." He began; Al sensed a significant rise in tension about the room, Jerrica almost seemed like she was about to fall into a dead faint and yet Al was clueless as to why, being a guy he was a little slow on the uptake in realizing just where Rio was going with this. "And I finally came to a decision; Jerrica Benton." He stated kneeling down on one knee and pulling out a tiny little box all in one fluid motion; Al's eyes widened as realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. "Will you marry me?" He asked; the silence after that became quite unbearable as all eyes turned to Jerrica; she was visibly trembling, what would her response be?

"_Slag I don't have my camera out; this would be so important to have, I'd better retain everything in memory and make a copy with the computers back home to digitally feed into the camera_." Al thought to himself his computerized brain instantly entering record mode.

"Yes." She whispered taking the ring presented to her and slipping it on her finger. "Oh God Rio yes." She said; louder this time, he whooped for joy and pulled her into a tight embrace complete with passionate kiss as every single woman and girl in the room cheered, Al would have responded in kind, but something unexpected had presented itself at this most inopportune of moments.

"Quite touching." The strange yet familiar voice cut through the revelry quite quickly; everyone spun to face Al, he would have probably turned to confront Arashikage as well, but the katana against his neck proved a great deterrent. "Apologies for this method, but I must act quickly before my sword brother discovers the ruse." He added pulling the blade back slightly.

"A pleasure to see you again too Arashikage." Al quipped; Storm Shadow slipped the man a small squarish box.

"With complements of the Commander; attach it to your television set and you will receive quite the interesting program." He informed. "Once again; apologies for interrupting what should have solely been a most joyous occasion, I am honor bound however to follow my Commander's orders." He stated with a slight bow before vanishing as suddenly as he arrived; Al rubbed his neck where the blade had barely touched him.

"I never though I'd ever say this, but I'm beginning to hate ninjas." He grumbled moving over to the television set.

"You're not actually going to use that?" Kimber asked nervously; Al shrugged as he attached the device in question.

"I don't see why not; he may be many things, but he's still honorable." He returned making the final connections; the image that appeared was that of a red Cobra emblem in a field of black, which pulled back to reveal Cobra Commander complete with battle mask; Al nearly fell flat on his back when he saw the impressive display.

"Good afternoon Mister Rutherford, Misfits… And anyone else foolishly watching this." He began sounding much more like Al expected him to in this guise. "At precisely twelve thirty-five this afternoon the transaction between Extensive Enterprises and Gabor Industries was officially concluded. I thought that you, among all the involved parties; would appreciate witnessing the battle between Autobot and Decepticon forces." He stated; and his tone heavily indicated a smile of false cheer behind his mask.

"I think you'll find this quite intriguing." He added before the image faded replaced by the off-shore oil platforms formerly run by Gabor Industries; the camera zoomed across the waves in a dizzying display, Al wound up swaying a little at the speed his optics were overcompensating for.  
A large impressive figure stood watching others milling about; the first one was a light grey in color with blue and red intermixed. His back featured twin wings and a cockpit rested dead center in his chest; Al was actually smiling at the oh so familiar sight of the notorious Air Commander, his optics flashed as he spun to face the unseen camera.

"How dare Megatron assign me to guard duty." He growled making a fist with one hand and eyeing it as if it were Megatron's head in his hand.

"Oh lay off it Starscream; you've said that forty-five times already." The large identical black and purple unit shot back; Starscream sneered as he turned to face this unidentified individual.

"And I'll keep on saying it Skywarp until your audios short out for all I care… To think my talents are wasted on this, when I should be in soul command of everything." He spoke with a very high opinion of himself; Skywarp rolled his optics as if he'd heard this all before and maneuvered past the air commander intent on his work.

"Thrust wanna trade places?" He wondered ignoring the look of outrage that appeared on Starscream's face.

"No way, it's bad enough I have to hear Dirge griping at not getting any action." The mostly marroonish red cone-headed unit with the VTOL jet parts hanging off his back returned; the loud sounds of an inbound jet distracted the trio, Starscream sighed.

"Must Thundercracker always announce his presence?" He scoffed crossing his arms over his chest manifold as he regarded some unseen object fast approaching in the sky.

"You know Thundercracker, all brawn, no brains." Skywarp teased as the blue and black seeker arrived converting into robot mode and falling into the shot rather impressively.

"You're just jealous that you've lost favor with Megatron." He retorted having obviously heard the conversation between his peers somehow.

"Well." Starscream demanded; Thundercracker shook his head.

"No dice; those humans may be inferior, but that Helicarrier is impregnable without Soundwave or Megatron's assistance." He reported; Al's expression almost matched Starscream's at that moment, although the Decepticons showed shocked outrage, whereas the human's indicated surprised intrigue.

"I must get that Infinity Engine before Megatron; its secrets could tip the balance of power in my favor." He stated irately a contemplative look on his features; Al was extremely interested in this conversation now, so much in fact that he marched straight up to the television set almost as though he could will it to give him that last bit of information he knew was coming.

"It's more liable to blow up in your face if Wheeljack concocted it." Skywarp retorted; Starscream slammed the errant warrior against the gurney's left leg and glared dangerously at him.

"It works Skywarp; I saw the test footage myself, the Autobots have found a way to generate endless energy, the possibilities are infinite." He hissed careful to keep his voice low enough that the other Decepticons didn't hear him; Al literally fell to the floor at his words curling up into a slightly meditative pose, at last he had discovered the cause of all Roma's problems.

"Stupid Autobot." He grumbled clenching one hand tight enough to draw a small trickle of blood. "He has no idea the dangers he has wrought; Infinity Engine, that explains everything with that much power the chaotic forces of this universe would become in flux, especially if someone was manipulating it unobserved for their own purposes." He muttered to himself seemingly not caring if the others heard him; it didn't matter anyway, the girls were too engrossed with this up close look into the lifestyles of the Decepticons and the adults, although they recognized slightly what he was referring to, knew better to start prying again.

"What's that?" Ramjet's voice cut in; the camera image now shifted to one of a primarily white cone head sharing a body type with Thrust, though his wings were not those of a VTOL jet, but some other similarly designed vehicle. A large sound was intensifying as something drew nigh; all eyes were drawn to the sky, the camera pulled back and up to reveal the source of the noise. Several Starlight girls spoke up at the same time as the voice of the primarily blue and black cone head Decepticon that was just barely in shot, Al knew him by the name Dirge.

"It's Jetfire." Dirge said; chorused by Terri, Ba Nee, Krissie, Anne and Deidre. "That traitorous piece of slag Shockwave tried building at the same time as he made us." The Decepticon continued alone now.

"Autobots." Starscream gasped in slow realization before slapping an odd attachment on the gurney; wherever the Decepticons were standing it was not one of the actual oil platforms. "Decepticons we're under attack; scramble!" He cried his voice echoing over some sort of P.A system; as one Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet, Skywarp and Thundercracker assumed vehicle mode and took to the sky echoing several shots Al recalled seeing as a child, but this was real life and it looked ten times cooler despite the obvious danger these machines represented.

"That is so cool." He voiced his inner thoughts bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet as his inner child was drawn to the forefront, Kimber smirked at that; Amy moved to stand beside her father an intense look in her eyes as she too eagerly anticipated the coming display of Cybertronian conflict.

"Not good; they've only got one aerial unit." She stated sounding as if she knew just as much as her father did in that instant; laser fire erupted and the sound was quite nerve-racking over the five point one surround sound system Rio had installed recently, Al being the closest quickly fumbled for the volume control.

"What's goin' on Starscream?" A mostly purple and beige robot asked emerging from the strange construct the would be Decepticon leader was standing on.

"Gee I don't know Blitzwing, what does it look like idiot." The purple and grey robot demanded converting into a locomotive and taking a running start before blasting off into the sky as a space shuttle.

"Astrotrain is asking for it." Blitzwing growled; Starscream ignored the triple changer, he was too busy studying Jetfire.

"He's dropping someone off at the far end of the field." A new voice exclaimed; though the viewers couldn't see the source since he was out of frame, Al still recognized it as the voice of Ratbat whom he'd heard over the phone.

"I can see that Ratbat." Starscream retorted with a snap; suddenly the image changed views, the sounds of laser fire grew louder and now everyone could see the Autobots who had just disembarked with Jetfire.

"Prahme that human wasn't far off, the 'Cons didn't see us comin' til it was too late." The large red and slightly grey unit stated joyfully as he took some shots at the swiftly passing by Thrust, missing with each one.

"Indeed Ironhide." The great red and blue leader agreed holing up his mighty cannon and blasting Dirge successfully from the sky with one well placed shot. "I am most eager to meet this young man who claims to originate from beyond our universe." He added; Al's face grew a little paler then, but when he looked back he was fortunate enough to discover that everyone appeared to be far too engrossed with the actual action to pay attention to what was being said.

"Come on Wheeljack get the lead out." A mostly black robot with one hand called; his other arm ended in a weapon barrel of some kind.

"I'm goin' as fast as I can Trailbreaker." The scientist retorted; Brawn leapt between two platforms and hoisted a discarded piece of rusted piping.

"Batters' up!" He cried taking a firm stance; Ramjet happened to be barreling in on the diminutive Autobot, the Decepticon jet had a tendency to like ramming into things, hence the name, Brawn grinned happily as he was presented with his target.

"Heh, heh, heh; I'm gonna teach you a lesson in sorrow ya old timer." The Decepticon quipped; Brawn stood his ground, he wasn't called Brawn for nothing after all he happened to be one of the strongest of the Autobots despite his size. Ramjet barreled in so fast it looked like he was going to hit Brawn; the Autobot however could time things out perfectly with his computer brain, and once Ramjet reached a certain point he began to swing with his makeshift bat. The club connected with Ramjet's nosecone; causing it to crumple up under the impact, Ramjet spiraled out of control madly and crash landed onto one of the platforms nearby.

"It's a long hard drive to Center field; it's going, going, gone!" Al found himself announcing in a joyful tone as Ramjet's fallen form connected with the drill on the oil platform and exploded, though the Decepticon wasn't dead, simply unconscious and lying prone amongst the flaming debris.  
A new camera shot suddenly filled the screen; it was far from the battle clear across the grouped together platforms and a little ways off from the construct where Starscream and Ratbat still perched.

"Megatron knew those fools couldn't handle this." An unknown yet slightly familiar voice stated; six lime green and purple robots appeared emerging from a strange cloaking effect, they stood grouped on a small aquatic vessel of Cybertronian manufacture.

"Constructicons; Unite!" The central robot cried out; Al looked very pale as he witnessed this awesome transformation for the first time, he took an involuntary step back from where he was standing off to one side from the t-v as the massive behemoth known as Devastator was formed, even the tiny size of the plasma screen could not dwarf their impressive size when combined.

"Awesome." Amy involuntarily whispered still standing beside her father; he shook his head.

"Awesome is not what I would call it." He stated matter of factly.

"Devastator annihilate Autobots!" The giant exclaimed sounding rather primitive; he took one massive step and began to walk over the platforms denting some of them considerably, he was so engrossed on his target he failed to notice that he'd actually destroyed one of them completely.

"The Decepticons just broke out the heavy artillery." Trailbreaker exclaimed as the image switched yet again now revealing the Autobot's reactions to this new threat.

"Where did they come from?" Starscream demanded as the image flashed over to the two overseers briefly.

"Apparently Megatron trusts neither of us completely." Ratbat remarked bitterly; Ba Nee shrieked in fright as the image changed to a close up of Devastator as he opened fire with some kind of optic burst, which razed three more platforms setting them ablaze.

"Time for some of our own." Prime was saying as images shifted back to the Autobots; Al's face clearly showed his displeasure with that decision.

"No!" He cursed as if Prime could even hear him. "If they liberate those platforms only to destroy a majority of them in the process you can kiss your deal with Cobra goodbye, and they'll definitely retaliate against those whom they can actually hurt." He added making a fist. "Unless." He added a sudden thought coming into his head; he eyed the image thoughtfully waiting to see what was going to happen, the Autobots cheered as five larger mostly grayish robots landed in the direct center of the sea of platforms. "You know it suddenly comes to my attention that Mister Gabor really didn't space those out very much; he must have really hit a rich deposit there or something." Al remarked in a logical tone of voice.

"Who are those ones?" Terri wondered.

"Dinobots." Deidre replied with an obvious tone of fear; the others eyed her briefly. "They were the ones who sort of got carried away and caused the deaths of our parents." She revealed with a slight sigh of remembered pain; Delaree nodded a stray tear of remembered grief shedding briefly, Al blinked at that he hadn't known the two of them were related.

"Me Grimlock say we Dinobots Transform and kick Devastator's overgrown skid plate." The leader bellowed; with a rapid succession of transformations five prehistoric beasts stood on the platform towering above the human made constructs, each one bellowed a warning and the sound coming from the speakers shook the very room causing the paintings and hanging records to tremble.

"Wonderful." Starscream muttered sarcastically as the images shifted yet again.

"The tide is definitely not in our favor any longer; Thundercracker, Skywarp, Astrotrain, Thrust get back here and secure our remaining Energon cubes before those two groups cause irreparable damage!" Ratbat ordered; instantly the airborne units veered off their current attack runs and raced back to the primary seat of Decepticon power to load up.

"Rahh!" Devastator cried leaping over several platforms and landing near the Dinobots; the titanic battle began and several of the surrounding platforms exploded, Al heard a tiny squeak of fear while Amy began to chant almost religiously.

"Go Dinobots, Go Dinobots, Go Dinobots." She repeated over and over; Swoop fired twin missiles, Snarl blasted energy from his tail, Sludge from eyes and mouth, Slag from his triple horns and Grimlock from his mouth. The explosion which resulted engulfed the image of the camera; when it cleared Devastator still stood and he was now bringing his massive cannon to bear.

"Cover your ears!" Al barked realizing that turning the volume down wouldn't be enough in this instant, besides he highly doubted he could move fast enough to render the sound mute; even muffled the laser blast shrieked ungodly loud and the entire house shook this time causing several gold albums to come tumbling to the floor, luckily they didn't break. Optimus Prime was now standing alongside the Dinobots; he held his laser cannon up and fired, five precise shots struck the weakened limbs of the giant.  
Mixmaster fell away first from his position as left leg unbalancing the behemoth; Scavenger tumbled next his linkage shattered into a million pieces, Bonecrusher and Hook collapsed side by side leaving Long Haul to sway drunkenly atop Scrapper briefly before total separation occurred.

"C-C-Constructicons… R-R-Retreat!" Scrapper stammered before all six took to the air; the shot switched back to Starscream and Ratbat who had not yet evacuated.

"Not a single Autobot casualty." Ratbat complained extending his wings and flapping them harder as he began to flee.

"That can be rectified." Starscream returned darkly as twin compartments popped open on his chest revealing numerous cluster bomb pods; multiple warheads exploded forth, they collided with a platform, which housed three of the Autobot warriors causing massive collateral damage.  
Starscream rocketed into the air laughing horribly; Prime let out a wordless cry and raced to the burning platform. "Now that's what I call bringing the house down!" Starscream's voice echoed evilly as he vanished on the horizon; Jetfire circled wide through the sudden panoramic shot and reached the wounded party first; Trailbreaker managed to drag himself and Wheeljack onto the landing ramp before conking out.

"Where's Brawn?" Prime demanded fearfully as he reached them.

"Over there." Jetfire point out; Slag charged the fallen drill and smashed it out of the way and Swoop picked up the badly damaged mini-bot, the others quickly boarded Jetfire and the Autobot jet shot off over the horizon.

"Daddy." Amy began turning to her father worriedly; Al smiled and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"It's ok little one; Ratchet can repair them, those injuries were nothin' to an Autobot." He stated soothingly; there was a great silence about the room, broken by the sudden appearance of one helicopter on the television screen. Then another, and another, and another until a whole contingent of Huey styled helicopters swooped about the platforms disgorging blue clad Cobra Troopers and Cobra Vipers.

"Secure the perimeter." A voice ordered; Destro hopped out of one of the choppers barking orders. "I want those fires put out and repairs to be under way on the double; Major Bludd." He called to one of the only men whose face wasn't covered by a mask; simply an ordinary eye patch with an odd helmet.

"Yes Destro." The man returned in an Australian accented tone.

"Tell the Tele-Vipers not to tinker with that Cybertronian technology until Mindbender gets here; he's convinced it will help with the genetic experiments he's running." Destro added before the image cut out yet again revealing the face of Cobra Commander.

"And there you have it; a copy is recorded in the memory card of the satellite uplink, should you be interested in keeping it Rutherford." He stated almost patronizingly. "And relax, we took collateral damage into account; it's quite inevitable when dealing with Cybertronians." He added smirking beneath his helmeted mask; Al sighed with open relief and reached for the box, Cobra Commander held up one hand startling him.  
"Incidentally you have a wonderful daughter; and congratulations on the upcoming nuptials Miss Benton." He stated; Al obviously looked like he wanted to curse rather loudly.

"You simpering sneaky serpent; this is real time!" Al bellowed instead; Cobra Commander chuckled and nodded his head briefly.

"Of course; I did say satellite uplink after all." He returned smugly.

"If you ever." The young man began to threaten energy crackling at his fingertips.

"Please, I am no mere fool; this information as well as this broadcast is known only to me, I guarantee it." He stated confidently. "Besides you do know my ultimate secret." He reminded tapping his helmeted head with one gloved finger; Al grinned openly at that.

"Your true face is not as precious to you as my daughter and these people have become to me; if so much as one Cobra agent ever comes near this house again." He paused dramatically a dark look crossing over his features. "Well, you do know what happened to the other who dared to threaten my friends amongst the X-Men." He finished in a rather low tone of voice; Cobra Commander nodded clutching his neck briefly in slight fear, this man was definitely not to be crossed lightly.

"Point taken Mister Rutherford, but rest assured you can trust me." He returned confident once more.

"I trust you about as far as I can throw Trypticon." Al snapped back forgetting himself briefly in his irritation.

"Who or what is a Trypticon?" Cobra Commander wondered confusedly.

"Let's just say; I've recently come into certain datum pertaining to future Decepticon units, which have yet to be built or sent to Earth from Cybertron." Al returned smoothly. "And believe me; you don't want to meet Trypticon." He added mouthing the words city sized transformer so that only the Commander could see and know just what the young man was talking about, the terrorist leader visibly shuddered.

"I will honor not only your privacy, but your clique as it were Rutherford; I may be an internationally renowned and feared terrorist, but I am not without reason or honor." He stated straightening up in his seat briefly. "Cobra Commander out." He finished as the image vanished; Al quickly disconnected the box and removed the memory card, he would indeed like a copy of what he'd just seen.

"That was a close one Daddy." Amy whispered her voice still too loud for Al's liking.

"If life were to get any more complicated at this juncture; I think I'd be orbiting the planet right about now." He sighed and turned an apologetic smile aimed at the two newly engaged heads of this particular household. "I am so sorry; it seems my manipulative business conducts have spoiled the moment." He added with a second sigh.

"It's ok, we've gotten used to these interruptions." Rio returned with a wide grin.

"I can't… You can't trust that man." Roxy cut in fearfully. "God he's seen all of us in one place; and it's so close to the concert season." She rambled swaying briefly before falling into the nearest sofa; Al shook his head briefly and shot her a reassuring smile.

"Calm yourself Roxy; though that man may not exactly appear or choose to act trustworthy, I would actually trust him more then my skills in hurling said Decepticon." He stated chuckling slightly at his little play on words. "Cobra Commander does have some sense of honor; he may not be completely evil beneath that mask, some men disgruntled with American society play golf as a hobby. He tries to conquer the world; he is quite evil because of his ultimate goals, but still he's not entirely hopeless where secrets and confided matters are concerned." He elaborated with a grudging show of respect and a deep note of conviction in his tone concerning the Commander's assurances of safety to all those under this roof; the other adults stared at him incredulously.

"How can you say that so calmly?" Aja demanded; Al chuckled.

"Hey come on." He muttered defensively. "I'm not saying he's a good man, I'm simply stating that we have nothing to worry about." He added before his facial expression hardened into a stony mask. "I guarantee it." He finished in a low dark tone of voice.

"Daddy's extremely protective of his friends and family." Amy stated in a cheery tone. "When he's fighting for you, so to speak, he gives it his all even if it brings him to the brink of stasis lock." She added looking up with proud and joyful eyes; Al smiled down at her and squeezed her shoulder gratefully.

"I believe it." Nancy spoke up startling the adults; she approached the young man and shot him a wary look. "And so what if I could never trust Cobra Commander; I trust you." She added taking them all even further by surprise; Al looked upon the young mutant with an expression of confusion, she really didn't need to come to his defense or anything. Everyone became even more shocked when Nancy hugged the tall man; Al stood awkwardly uncertain just how to react, something inside seemed to fill him with a great sense of pride and a goofy grin spread across his face.

"Thank you Nancy for the vote of confidence." He said.

"Nancy has certainly put into words and deeds better then any of us." Kimber spoke up with a smile.

"Great; then can we do something fun now?" Amy wondered innocently. "I'd really like to see Miss Danse dancing." She added eyeing the silent and clearly slightly confused newcomer with wonder and devotion in her eyes.

"Amy." Al gently chided; she lowered her head in a show of apology.

"Sorry, but I've never seen… Er… You know." She pointed out; in point of fact Al didn't know, but he nodded with complete understanding.

"You should still be polite about it; and Nancy, not to be rude, but you're starting to soak my legs." He mumbled; the young girl blushed at that and pulled away reverting to normal, for some reason she'd used her powers in order to get high enough to hug the man properly.

"Sorry." She murmured sheepishly.

"That's ok; instant dry is a snap when you can soak the water molecules into vacuum." He retuned demonstrating the principle in question; he sent the tiny ball of moisture outside with a deft flick of the wrist.

"This room is awfully crowded for dancing." Danse remarked eyeing Amy with a little smile; Jerrica nodded sagely.

"Why don't you take the girls to the gym?" She suggested. "We adults have a dinner to prepare among other tings." She added kissing Rio.

"Yeah; maybe you can convince Al into a duet." Kimber giggled before leaving the room with most everybody else; the looks the girls shot the squirming young man sent a shudder down his spine, this was going to turn out to be rather amusing for somebody and Al doubted it would be him.

* * *

"Ooooo let me see it." Kimber exclaimed rushing up to her sister and giggling slightly; Jerrica showed off the engagement ring with pride, Aja and Shana ohed and ahed appreciatively while Roxy took a closer look.

"Yep; it's real." She stated bluntly; Jerrica frowned.

"What does it matter if it's real or not?" She shot back. "It came from Rio and I'll cherish it always." She added.

"We should have had a camera present." Video complained; Syn chuckled slightly and eyed the others bemusedly.

"We did." She pointed out. "Al's got a photographic memory; remember he's a machine, he can probably recreate that exact moment down to every detail with his knowledge of holograms and computers and insert it onto a DVD or something." She elaborated with a very un-Synergy like giggle.

"Now I'm jealous." Aja admitted. "Stormer will you talk to Craig and drop some not so subtle hints about us?" She asked emphasizing the last word with a knowing smile; Stormer shook her head with a giggle of her own.

"You two seriously should have hooked up fully by now; my brother always was dense when it came to handling women." She returned conspiratorially.

"Finally; we'll have a real man about the house." Raya spoke up. "Well; at least for longer then two weeks, so are you going to have him move in tonight?" She asked slyly; Jerrica's cheeks blushed and she shook her head.

"Not just yet; we're going to be on the road soon enough and I wouldn't want to give the girls false hopes just yet." She returned; Kimber shook her head accompanied with an exasperated sigh.

"Oh Jerrica." She exclaimed before marching off.

"At least we got confirmation on Al's origins a little." Clash spoke up for the first time. "I don't think the girls caught Prime's little revelation though." She added thoughtfully.

"It's not like they don't know about the Omniverse; no thanks to Kang." Shana pointed out in return. "I hope Danse isn't too suspicious or concerned about him though; she hasn't gotten to know him yet." She added thoughtfully.

"Relax; if I can accept him after only knowing him a day because of you, I'm sure Danse can too." Raya remarked; the group nodded at that and began to get some things done that just had to be done, such as the gathering of dirty clothes from the girls' rooms and such.

* * *

"Come now wouldn't you like to share this with your daughter?" Danse asked as we entered the gym.

"I'm just not big on dancing." I returned sheepishly; Deidre chuckled and elbowed Ashley who was closest.

"Isn't that what he said about singing?" She asked in a mock whisper; Anne shot her a strange look, while I summoned one of the katanas to me with a magnetic tug.

"Fine, if you're so eager to see me dance than I'll dance, but I'm going to have to insist on doing it my way." I stated with an annoyed tone; Amy smirked a little at that as she sent encouraging thought tendrils to tickle my brain. "Danse; would you care to start?" I wondered gallantly indicating the large empty space set aside for Gymnastics, Stretching and what might have been a Ballet class.

"Of course." She replied with a smile; Lela fetched a stereo and a collection of CDs, Danse selected one and turned it on. Her grace was not exaggerated as she danced about in lithe fluid motions; her performance filled me with a sense of dread, there was no way I could duplicate such a feat. I mean sure I had the skills of a warrior and about several varied self defense styles tucked away in my brain, but I still wasn't limber enough to perform something like the very impressive triple splits move she performed; though that probably wasn't what it was called.  
The girls were in silent awe as always whenever Danse was concerned; and my little Amy was lost with an expression of pure rapture on her face, I caught a hint of longing for her Eternian relatives and their graceful natures as she watched this remarkably talented woman. Danse had closed her eyes lost in the beauty of it all; and a part of me felt like a child myself watching her perform, it was very different seeing a cartoon character of such skill and grace come to life right before your eyes, not too dissimilar to the feelings I felt while watching the battle between Autobot and Decepticon in real time.  
As her song finished I became amply nervous; fortunately I could easily find musical accompaniment for my intended dance number, this was different from fighting in general because; in combat you moved swiftly to deal with your opponents before they could deal with you. In order to turn the exact same moves into a sort of dance routine I would have to move slower; a part of me was sick to my stomach, but another part of me was giddy at the prospect of finally letting my inner geek out with both this dance and this song.

"Oh ho, ho oh; oh ho, ho, oh." The song began as I struck an at ready pose; I closed my eyes and breathed in the melody, my body began to move seemingly of its own accord as the song truly began. The blade swept through the positions as I spun around an invisible battlefield; I slipped once again into my training, it wasn't all Xena. She'd only taught me the blade; Iolaus and Lieutenant Torres had done the martial arts instructing, including several Vulcan, Klingon, Romulan and Terran techniques, I had to open my eyes part way through the song when I sensed someone drawing dangerously close beside me. Danse was mimicking me without the blade allowing me to teach her something new apparently, I found myself smiling as I flowed through the lotus maneuver; the girls were just as awed by my performance as they had been Danse's, but for different reasons. The music ended and I stopped breathing a little heavier then usual; it was highly difficult to retain a certain speed, when your muscles and brain wanted you to move a hell of a lot faster.

"That was quite interesting." Danse remarked with a smile as she wiped her own perspiration away with a towel supplied by Lela.

"Well; being inventive is one of my strengths." I returned feeling my cheeks going red.

"So why don't we go help out with the cleanup?" Lela suggested; I shrugged.

"Whatever you want I suppose; I'm tapped out for ideas." I returned with a suddenly very tired sigh; so much had happened in such a short amount of time, and the day was barely even half over.

* * *

Once again that night Synergy entered her brothers' room and found him tossing about; she didn't know what he dreamt, but she knew it would be disturbing him. This time the touch of her hand alone did nothing; she didn't know exactly what she should do, it might be unconventional and unwise to try and soothe him, but she knew that much was riding upon him. There was only one possible solution; it was just a good thing they had established their particular relationship, or he might get the wrong impression. Slipping onto the bed she reached out an arm and rested it upon his shoulder blades; his bucking form stirred less, and he twisted in his sleep until he was curled up like a cat in her arms.

"To have so much expected of you at such a young age." She murmured with a soft sigh. "Or at least young compared to a Cybertronian." She added bemusedly; she placed a kiss on his forehead and silently took in the soft purr of the Catarian and gentle breathing of the man beneath the covers, she knew things had escalated since his ingestion of the Energon cube.  
One who rarely let his presence known was attempting to contact her adopted sibling, to warn him of the imminent threat of the Infinity Engine and the part Al must play in preventing Megatron from unleashing catastrophe; unfortunately the great God Primus had very little experience in speaking to humans, let alone his own children the Cybertronians. She sighed softly and closed her eyes in approximation of sleep; anyone uninformed might get the wrong idea, she really didn't care though, he would need all his strength to deal with GIJoe and Cobra once he returned to New York and so she offered him the peace and rest that he deserved.

* * *

Early Saturday morning Marianne came to Nancy's room and knocked softly; Nancy answered and her face fell a little, which caused Marianne to flinch.

"Come in." Nancy muttered backing away from the entrance; Marianne slipped in and nervously twirled her hair.

"I… I want to apologize; it was rude of me… What I said on the phone." She began; Nancy didn't acknowledge this, her face remained impassive. "Please Nan… I'm, I'm so very sorry." She pleaded tears fighting to escape; Nancy was already starting to cry silently.

"What you said… It really hurt." She whispered hating this sudden vulnerability. "And after I trusted you enough to tell you first." She reminded choking back a sob.

"Oh God Nan… I never meant to hurt you." Marianne returned drawing closer to her friend, who shied away slightly. "I was just so afraid I'd lose my friend; I've heard a lot about mutants who change because of their powers, like that Magneto person and his Brotherhood." She elaborated reaching out a supportive hand and squeezing the other girls' shoulder.

"Aw Marie." Nancy returned softly smiling slightly through the tears. "I'll never turn into someone like them… Not when I've got a house full of friends; and a best friend who cares, like you." She added smiling fuller and more openly now; Marianne felt a weight leaving her shoulders and she burst into tears of joy and relief, they hugged once again the best of friends and all was forgiven.

* * *

Waking up in the arms of a hologram was not what I expected; her eyes were closed and her breathing regular, but she was not asleep merely approximating the gesture. I felt strangely safe in her arms; not safe like with Rogue though, this was entirely different with nothing hidden, sexual or romantic involved.

"You were having another restless night." She whispered her eyes still closed. "Unlike the previous night this required a more unconventional solution." She added opening her eyes and smiling happily at me.

"Thanks." I returned softly. "Though I don't remember any restlessness on my part." I added with a slight frown. "Though I do seem to recall a metallic world filled with a golden glow of some kind." I added in afterthought. "My subconscious must be lying to me though; I've never been to Cybertron or any metallic worlds for that matter."

"Yes." She agreed with a light tinkle of laughter. "So this is why Jerrica enjoys Rio's company." She added. "I could get used to this human pass time; unfortunately any man I might choose would probably be too conscientious with a woman who doesn't sleep, eat or do much of anything else he'd be used to." She admitted with a soft sigh.

"I'm afraid I can't help you there big sis." I returned climbing out of bed and heading into the bathroom. "I am truly grateful though; restless nights now would seriously prove detrimental to my enjoyment of the last remaining days of my vacation." I added leaning back out and shooting her a grateful smile.

"I know." She returned with a smirk. "You humans always did amaze me, but before you unlocked my spark's memories I simply attributed it to Emmets' programming." She elaborated approximating stretching tired muscles; I shrugged and ducked back in, I would have said more, but instead I climbed into the shower to face another day.

"G'Mornin'." Amy greeted groggily as she sat up in bed. "Aunty Synergy." She added with a chesire cat smile.

"When are you going to tell your father you're staying here on Earth Nine Twenty-Nine?" She asked in a very soft tone knowing that with the water running Al wouldn't hear her; Amy shushed her hissingly.

"Not yet; when I go to see him again in New York or he comes back here." She replied in equally soft tones.

"But why hide it from him?" Syn wondered confusedly eyeing her niece thoughtfully; and then she realized something rather important, for all intents and purposes Amy was her niece.

"I don't want him to worry." Amy explained with a small knowing sigh. "Sometimes I think he's too over protective for his own good." She added almost coming across as an adult; this caused Synergy to burst into a fit of giggles, they bubbled up and out of her as she sat languidly on the bed, I chose to re-enter the room at that moment wrapped in a towel.

"What's so funny?" I wondered curiously pleasantly surprised at the sound of Syn's laughter; it fascinated me to think that here I was in the same room as a computer program, which also happened to represent the life force of a Maximal.

"Something Kimber just implied concerning Rio's sleeping over." She covered using a genuine conversation she was marginally aware of. "You know being in two, now three places at once is sometimes disconcerting." She revealed as I began to get dressed knowing her inherent nature wouldn't allow her to be upset about seeing me; Amy slipped off to the shower and Syn left without another word to join the others at breakfast.

* * *

"Two more days and no clue what to do." Al observed with a sigh as he eyed breakfast annoyed more with himself then anyone else.

"I'm sure we can think of something." Aja returned with a smile.

"So; I'm curious you told us early last week that you were shot out of the sky by the Decepticons." Shana began completely out of the blue. "It's so obvious you didn't come on the Blackbird; and don't think we wouldn't notice that fact, but do you honestly expect us to believe you survived a plunge like that?" She added with a grin; Al shifted uncomfortably at the scrutiny he was receiving, but shot everyone a mischievous smirk.

"I fell from heaven." He reiterated simply; Kimber shook her head exasperatedly at the cryptic remark. "Is that what you wanted to hear?" He wondered slyly.

"Not good enough." Roxy stated sliding her empty plate aside and eyeing him expectantly; Al let out a little sigh, but there was no point in denying the truth even if they seemed disbelieving of it.

"It's like I said, I rode in on a storm front; I was trying to clear my head after… Well you know." He revealed shoving his half eaten meal aside apparently no longer as hungry as he thought.

"You traveled clear across the continent in a storm?" Stormer asked disbelievingly; Al nodded and smiled as memories of that day oh so long ago returned, and a laugh escaped him at the ultimate of ironies.

"If you'll recall I am a master of Gravity; it's easy to let the wind blow you around when you can render the section of the sky around you to make it seem like you're light as a feather." He pointed out sagely. "Never ask for directions from military jets though." He quipped eliciting puzzled looks from the assembled women and Rio who was sitting quietly beside his new fiancé one arm wrapped around her waist. "Some of them can be more than meets the eye." He elaborated with a wide boyish grin; Syn was trying desperately not to laugh, surprisingly enough Clash addressed him first.

"You ran into those Decepticons that were here after Eric." She guessed; Al's grin widened impossibly wide and he nodded; Kimber gasped.

"They shot you out of the sky for real." She exclaimed; Al nodded further and couldn't help himself as a chesire cat like grin spread across his face further unnerving the others.

"How could you enjoy that?" Shana demanded; Al shook his head in an attempt to explain, they just couldn't understand no matter what thanks to the fact they didn't know his true origins, at least not in full.

"Actually… I was thinking how ironic it is; that I should owe Starscream of all beings, for meeting all of you." He covered smiling fondly at the collected group of adults, the girls had wished to eat alone and plan things out; or so they claimed. "My extended family if you will." He added in a very serious tone.

"And your new sister." Syn countered; Al chuckled boisterously and nodded in agreement, though Clash was obviously confused by the remark.

"That's so sweet." Kimber remarked reaching out and squeezing the mans' shoulder.

"What can I say; most of my family…" He trailed off a sudden expression of deep sadness clouding his features. "Well that's not important, where the X-Men are concerned they are my working family; and you Starlighters, if you'll pardon the moniker, are my home away from home family." He stated smiling broadly now and seemingly loosing his melancholy.

"That's one of the nicest things…" Roxy trailed off fighting back her tears; Al smiled joyfully an expression that seemed to be ever present at the current moment, thanks to all the good vibes he was feeling.

"I'll tell you what it is." Kimber cut in. "It's Outrageous." She exclaimed eliciting the group to laughter; Al suddenly sobered up as memories returned concerning a certain conversation from yesterday, he closed his eyes with sudden apprehension. Despite the help from Syn concerning his restless nights; he couldn't fight the urge that something was decidedly wrong.

"Infinity Engine." He mumbled losing himself to his thoughts.

"What?" Rio wondered curiously finally speaking up and seeming to return to the moment rather then being lost in Jerrica's eyes, she blushed a little as she realized she'd barely been paying attention herself.

"It's what the Decepticons want; I just have this funny feeling… It's important for some reason." He muttered as Shana and Clash began to gather the dirty dishes.

"Now's not the time to worry about that." Syn stated firmly marching over to her brother and pointedly placing a hand upon his shoulder; Al sighed at the words of wisdom, simplicity however in forgetting such concerns was never easy.

"Come on." Clash urged from the sink. "Buck up… You've got two more whole days of being with Amy." She pointed out with a smile.

"The only way I'll lose my inhibitions will require more then Amy I'm afraid." He spoke up with a sad little smile. "So I think I'll go see what they want to do." He added climbing to his feet and slipping out of the kitchen in search of the girls.

"I wish we could help." Aja admitted. "He did say something about forces of chaos yesterday." She pointed out.

"We don't have the skills any more." Roxy countered. "Besides; I do not want to get involved in fighting the likes of Megatron." She added with a cold shudder; Shana and Clash nodded as one.

"The girls will keep him preoccupied." Jerrica stated certainly. "I wonder though…" She trailed off as a sudden thought struck her; turning to Rio she shot him a silent questioning gaze, he smiled and gave her a nod.

"Sure thing; I mean he's become so much a part of our lives and all, and I think it'd be a great honor to him." He said; Syn eyed the pair curiously.

"What are you getting at?" She asked coyly; Jerrica shot her a smirk.

"You'll just have to wait and see old friend." She returned emphasizing the last part playfully; Syn shook her head exasperatedly, despite it all she still hated it when Jerrica got these funny ideas and never bothered letting anybody else in on the secret.

* * *

"Let's go to the mall again." Delaree suggested; a resounding chorus of no's vetoed that idea; Al had entered the dinning room to discover a rather heated argument going on, and now he regretted coming in here.

"Swimming?" Joellen wondered; the others gave out collective groans.

"Let's get Al and Synthia to fight again." Anne exclaimed doing it mostly to see if the young man was even paying attention.

"I think not." He returned haughtily; her face fell slightly, but they had seen rather enough violence the previous two days.

"Why don't we go horseback riding?" Deidre wondered; everyone seemed to think that over, and Al eyed them thoughtfully.

"We haven't been in ages." Becky admitted with a tiny frown; she loved the horses and the wide open spaces up at the ranch.

"Tornado's probably forgotten me." Ba Nee added with a little pout of her own; Al chuckled under his breath at that, he couldn't help it, Tornado was the name of Zorro's horse and his useless trivia filled brain tended to tickle his fancy sometimes.

"And Peppermint." Terri interjected with a little sigh.

"You ride horses?" Amy exclaimed fearfully; Al smiled at her and picked her up.

"We can ride together if you want; I know how much you feel about trying something new." He spoke softly; Amy smiled and hugged her father tightly, their limited telepathic bond revealed the wistful memories he was experiencing concerning his tenure in ancient Greece. Riding had just been more practical then running alongside Argo; who had steadfastly refused to carry him upon their first meeting.

"Rules; remember we can't go without Jerrica and the others." Nancy reminded the group; faces fell, Al however smiled as he turned back to re-enter the kitchen.

"Then we shall go ask." He stated matter of factly; Al headed out, Ashley, Nancy, Terri, Anne, Ba Nee and Deidre following after him, Amy still held tightly in his arms.

"Horse riding is fun." Ba Nee said to Amy to help alleviate her fears; Amy smiled weakly at the young Vietnamese in partial gratitude, she wasn't all together certain about this.

To Be Concluded; **The final chapter is here at last; our hero can no longer hide out from the things that he must do in order to save the universe from total destruction, and what's this, the Infinity Engine? Sounds like he's going to be encountering the Decepticons again after his troubles with GIJoe are taken care of. Man; it's the last time I get to say this so...**

**Jem and the Holograms will be back After these Messages.**


	18. Chapter 18 The Final Goodbyes

**Author's Notes:** Wow; took me a long time to update this story with the final chapter, sorry about that but I've been typing up a storm in anticipation of finally finishing up all of Chrysalis as a whole. Anyway; this story might not end with a major cliffhanger like the other three, but it's still ending and I'm sad to say you won't be seeing much more of Jerrica Benton or all the rest for a time. Although fear not; they shall return, maybe not after these messages, but definately at some point in the future... For now here is the last time I get to say it... And enjoy...

"And now back to Jem!"

* * *

The Starlight Express was really crowded; mainly because the Holograms hadn't replaced the other destroyed vehicles Reflector or I should say Viewfinder crushed when he fell into the garage. The countryside was rather nice; though it couldn't compare to the pristine wonder of the ancient unmarred world.

"Why do I have to sit like this?" Anne complained from my lap fidgeting slightly.

"Because you got the blue tipped straw." Terri reminded from Kimber's lap; she sighed and shifted again. I felt like sighing myself; she was more fidgety then Illyana had been the first time, which wasn't an easy feat I can tell you.

"I should have tired to convince Jetfire to give us a ride." I groaned receiving a few funny looks. "Well he is roomier." I added with a sheepish grin.

"At least Roxy, Clash and Stormer didn't want to come." Shana pointed out. "This was a great idea though; we haven't been to see the horses since last summer." She added with a fond smile of half-forgotten memories.

"Constance should seriously consider an alternate nickname." I remarked with a chuckle. "Clash just doesn't suit her personality any more."

"We've known her so long with that name." Aja observed with a wistful smile. "I don't think we could get used to calling her anything else."

"Things change." Kimber pointed out. "Say why'd Raya stay behind anyway; she always loved riding." She added shooting the collective grouping of Holograms a curious look.

"She seems very sad of late and I've noticed she doesn't do much outside of staying in her room; I'd wish she'd open up to us." Jerrica called from the drivers' seat.

"Maybe Daddy could get her to open up; he has a way with people." Amy suggested; I smiled at the vote of confidence, but shook my head negatively.

"Sorry little one, but I don't think Raya wants to open up to a guy she only met a few days ago." I returned; Amy frowned a little, she really did like helping people as much as I did in certain respects.

"This is boring; turn on the radio." Joellen requested.

"No!" A chorus of shouts cried as Shana reached for the knob; everyone who hadn't shouted looked around in sudden curiosity.

"Why no?" Marianne demanded; Nancy elbowed her in the ribs. "Oh yeah." She muttered suddenly remembering something, I eyed the girls uncertainly then.

"Will you sing us a traveling song of some kind?" Terri asked innocently shooting her big expressive eyes in a gaze aimed squarely at me; I fidgeted slightly, this was a most clever trap they'd concocted.

"I don't know any traveling songs." I returned; Aja grinned mischievously at me and leaned over to whisper something in Rio's ear, the young man turned partially.

"Well; you could sing one of the Holograms songs." He said; I shot him a glare at that.

"Yeah right; well why don't we let me pick the song?" I asked pointedly closing my eyes and sifting through my memories.

"No Disney." Anne requested with a grimace. "It's too early in the morning for light and fluffy songs." She added; I shook my head at that, it had been a while since she'd acted like her Goth self I forgot she happened to have a penchant for darker moods, as any Goth would.

"Alright; then it'll take me a few minutes longer to pick one." I returned closing my eyes again and sitting rim rod straight revealing my machine-like nature in brief. "Wise men say; only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you." I began in a deeper baritone. "Shall I stay; would it be a sin, if I can't help falling in love with you… Like a river flows; surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things are meant to be… Take my hand; take my whole life too, for I can't help falling in love with you." I sang my eyes staying closed as I lost myself to the song; I'm not sure why it came up all of a sudden, perhaps because I was secretly missing Rogue something fierce, but it was strangely appropriate considering Rio had just proposed the other day.  
"Like a river flows; surely to the sea, darling so it goes, some things are meant to be… Take my hand; take my whole life too, for I can't help falling in love with you. For I can't help falling in love… With… Youuuuu." I finished; it was a short song after all, when I opened my eyes again I was shocked to find Jerrica and Shana crying.

"That was so perfect and beautiful." Aja whispered softly; I smiled slightly, who knew I could touch somebody so much impersonating the King.

"Well; how about something upbeat for the encore?" I asked; and before anyone could say anything I began to sing one of my all time personal favorites, the theme of Ghostbusters.

* * *

Norman Osborn sneered at the image given to him; it was of Rutherford of course, but it revealed him speaking to two known collaborators of Cobra at a party in Los Angeles. Not very informative; so he was somewhere in LA, he couldn't very well get to him if he didn't have an address.

"Thank you Miss." He stated politely as he cut the check. "As advertised my dear." He added sliding the paper over to her; she smiled gratefully, pocketed the check and took her leave. A most irksome development; then again the expression on the young man's face in the picture was worthwhile.

"Did he pay fer it?" The rough looking man with the dark sunglasses asked from his perch on the hog.

"Of course." She scoffed tossing aside her wig. "Now let's get out of here before someone recognizes you Monkey Wrench." She added hopping onto the back of the hog and wrapping her arms around the loathsome man's back, normally she'd use her own motorbike, but when dealing with Osborn it paid to be subtle.

"Sure thin' Zarana." He returned gunning the hog's engine and zipping into traffic without so much as a backwards glance.

* * *

I eyed the great white stallion with slight trepidation; Ricochet as he was called eyed me back, there was definitely an intelligence behind those eyes, perhaps more so then I remembered seeing in Widowmaker's own.

"He sure is big Daddy." Amy whispered; the horse seemed to glance at her in turn, she tried to squeeze behind my legs even further.

"It's perfectly fine sweetie, besides we have a slight advantage over others." I reminded; I approached the horse casually and offered a brief though polite half-bow, it was strangely out of reflex for some reason there was something about this particular horse that struck a chord in me… As if I should recognize him; Ricochet proceeded to trot up to me, he wasn't as intimidating as Widowmaker had been thanks to my new height, but I still felt a stabbing of that old fear though I wouldn't let it show outwardly. I affixed the saddle expertly and climbed up into it; Amy cautiously approached, the beast's nostrils flared slightly and he whinnied happily for him this was a chance of a lifetime, he rarely got picked due to how tall he was according to the foreman. Amy trembled at the strange noise; I smiled encouragingly and levitated her into the saddle, Ricochet began with a light canter and we easily caught up to the others on the trail, Deidre shot us a smile.

"Finally coaxed her on huh." She teased; Amy ignored her and concentrated on remaining upright on the horse, it wasn't easy with her tail and the holographic disguise she was forced to wear. I merely grinned at the other girl; so they had riding experience so what, I happened to have a good deal more of it then they did most likely when it came to taking one of these marvelous beasts through their paces.

"Shall we take you through your paces Ricochet?" I asked the animal patting the side of his neck; he really seemed to like that idea as he neighed happily as if eager and broke into a full gallop. Amy let out a tiny squeak as we took off, I in turn mimicked Xena's war cry straight down to the femaleness of her tone; Ricochet tore down the trail rushing past the others so suddenly it took several by surprise and Ba Nee's little roan almost ran off with her on it. I leant into the animal both to enjoy the wind screaming past us and to keep Amy safe; a thunderous sound came up behind us, Shana, Aja, Kimber, Ashley, Deidre and Nancy were galloping after us looks of enjoyment on their faces.

"_Daddy_!" Amy squealed at me through our link.

"_I'm sorry little one; I'll slow us down_." I thought back preparing to rein our ride in.

"_No that's ok, you deserve some fun too; and so does the horse_." She thought back with a weak smile on her lips; I grinned as the horse sped up even further almost sensing my desire to outrace the others.

"_Thanks sweetie_." I shot back letting out a whoop at the same time; a great feeling of happiness was shared between us, Amy was truly glad to see me happy and I in turn felt all my cares fall away as I lost myself to memories of a simpler time as well as enjoyed the simple feel of the wind racing over my back. I grinned like the chesire cat as I glanced behind me; Kimber had reined in herself, her horse just couldn't keep up with us, and soon Deidre and Shana joined her.

"You're good!" Aja complemented over the wind; she having matched my horse stride for stride with her own.

"I just know my animals." I returned with a smile; in point of fact I had suspected Ricochet could go a lot faster, there was just something about him, as though he were perhaps a little more than met the eye.

"You're just…" Ashley began reining her own horse in as well with a shake of her head; Nancy didn't say anything, she just leaned in closer to her horse and whispered something. Ricochet let out a hearty whinny and seemed to move even faster; this beast was truly remarkable, and soon we'd both left Aja behind in the dust.

"Daddy do horses usually go this fast?" Amy wondered speaking aloud this time.

"Some of them." I replied; Nancy was neck in neck with us now, she had a very determined look on her face. Suddenly we were both forced to rein our horses in as an impossibly large wolf emerged from the trees to the left of the path, which was flush with the forest; the beast eyed us with intelligent eyes.  
I found myself letting out a tiny sigh; Nancy's horse whinnied in fright, but Ricochet showed some sense or perhaps recognition of this animal. This strange and naturally un-indigenous creature seemed to be studying us; I calmly regarded the beast and grabbed the reins of Nancy's horse, calming the creature significantly.

"I'll get rid of him." Nancy stated extending one arm and preparing to attack with her gift.

"No need; she will depart of her own accord." I whispered eyeing the animal knowingly; how I knew she was female I couldn't begin to tell even myself, it was as if something inside me could sense it. Ricochet shook his head as if to say no; the wolf nodded in something of understanding and turned slipping back into the trees.

"What was that all about?" Nancy wondered.

"Nothing important, just two creatures exchanging greetings." I returned with a small knowing smile aimed at my horse; Ricochet trembled slightly, but I patted his neck comfortingly.

"How'd you know that was a female wolf?" Amy asked as we returned to our afternoons activities admittedly at a slower clipped pace.

"I don't know." I replied truthfully. "I suspect it has something to do with how that Energon cube's been affecting me." I elaborated; Nancy eyed me curiously, I ignored the look and chose to spend the rest of the visit enjoying myself as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

* * *

The drive home was filled with excited conversations; and this time the radio was on, I however was silent in my musings. A pity I didn't meet the two Maximals before Waspinator left; they could have gotten back to Cybertron then alongside the Predacon, but alas that apparently was not their fate. Once we got back to Starlight mansion the girls all wanted to do their own thing, which suited me just fine; taking Amy to Syn's room I decided to continue her training in mastery of the assimilation tendrils.

"You're coming along." I complimented at the image of Ricochet in full gallop; Synergy smiled from her position.

"Grabbing stuff is easy; creating images like you do requires so much concentration." She admitted with a tiny sigh; I smiled.

"Naturally; my own creative skills probably helps some." I returned gently. "You know you don't have to do everything I do with them; what about using them in your gymnastics?" I wondered; Amy giggled and leapt up from her cross legged position.

"I can do a lot of things with them when I'm practicing my gymnastics Daddy." She exclaimed proudly and images were shared between us; I smiled proudly in return.

"That's wonderful sweetheart; maybe when we're back at Xavier's you can show me, where we don't have to hide your true nature." I remarked; Amy lowered her head slightly, but didn't say anything.

"I wish you'd trust Jerrica and the others with the truth of the matter." Syn spoke up surprising us both; I started to shake my head, but she wouldn't have any of that. "Honestly; do you think they've never been targeted before by Omniversal threats?" She demanded angrily; I sighed and plopped down onto one of the chairs.

"Look Syn; I know there's a lot of things they can accept, I'm amazed they didn't kick me out after I told them the truth about what happened to the Red Skull, but trust me when I say I'm not willing to explain everything just yet… Maybe before I go; so they don't wonder what happened to me." I returned with a tiny frown; Syn shook her head this time, but didn't bother saying anything more, what happened to Jerrica and the others was not her secret to tell.

* * *

Amy and I practiced a little while longer, but soon it grew time for dinner; and so we left Syn's physical form behind and journeyed downstairs with her holographic form. There was little else that occurred the rest of the day; considering my time was drawing ever closer to an end here, things had seemingly wound down and no one was really interested in drawing attention to the fact that I'd be gone on Monday.  
However as I lay in bed contemplating what Sunday could bring in the way of new experiences I received a late night visitor; one moment I was alone in bed, the next she had leapt through my open window, which I'd left open purposefully.

"I was expecting you." I stated in a calm tone; I likened it to the tone of voice Skywalker used in Return of the Jedi, she in turn chose not to speak in her animal form. Her form shifted with barely a whisper of a sound moving fluidly from the organic wolf mode into the Maximal warrior; her armor was a mixture of ebony and dark, dark blue coloring, her face was covered by a black mask, and her optics were a vivid shade of magenta. Her armor was definitely curved; it reminded me most strongly of Athena's armor, with the short skirt-like piece around her waist and the strange appearance of her helmet, though there were certain influences from her bestial form as well most especially in the slight curvature of ears and the sharp metallic teeth, which glinted in the moonlight.  
She proved slightly more curvy then Airazor, but not as bust out slutty as Black Arachnia in the chest department; her cranium held a small shock of metallic-beaded hair, and her fingers ended in claws while a sword laying strapped across her back blended perfectly into the armor, and her feet seemed shaped like short-heeled boots that blended into her legs part way up.

"How?" She demanded of me; her voice was wary and yet at the same time melodious, I couldn't be certain if she spoke English or Cybertronix, though my universal translator had never encountered that language before so I strongly doubted it would be able to interpret it.

"This man knows a great deal more then the average human Vixen." Synergy replied as she gently closed the door behind her; how she knew that this Vixen would be here was beyond me, but she must have suspected as much.

"Vixen… For a wolf?" I wondered with a tiny smirk; the Maximal woman ignored me.

"Onyx?" She asked eyeing the human facsimile before her; Synergy shook her head almost sorrowfully.

"I go by Synergy now." She replied; Vixen jerked slightly at her words, but she seemed to understand.

"Your stasis pod did not survive; a human somehow saved you." She surmised; Syn nodded, Vixen turned back to me with a deep expression of something I couldn't quite recognize in her optics. "This human?" She wondered a low growl escaping her.

"A man named Emmet Benton." Syn replied; Vixen nodded accepting of those words before eyeing me curiously.

"I am from a completely alternate universe; and since I don't really think we need to get into everything, let us simply say I am intimately familiar with all things Cybertronian, past, present and future." I explained; the female Maximal eyed me dubiously, Syn smiled as she came around Vixen and stood beside me.

"Do you know what happened? Why we're on Earth of the past?" She asked hopefully; I nodded.

"The Axalon was diverted to pursue a band of Predacon criminals who stole the Golden disk; they used their Transwarp drives and were thought lost by the Maximal Elders." I paused in the telling allowing Vixen to digest my words before continuing. "Rough estimate; three million years ago, long after the Ark crashed here both ships arrived and crashed as well during a heated dogfight in orbit of the planet. Optimus Primal and his crew began the." I paused again this time a slight scowl crossing over my features. "Beast Wars against Megatron and his Predacons; the war, if it could be really called that, lasted approximately three Terran years. In the end Primal left with the survivors on an Autobot shuttle and unfortunately had to leave the fallen stasis pods behind; I have no idea what happens after that as far as this particular universe's events are concerned, nor am I aware as to why Primal never sent anybody back into the time stream to reclaim the lost pods." I finished; Vixen seemed to accept this and took a seat on the edge of the bed, now I could tell she was roughly three feet taller then me, which explained why her wolf mode was so impossibly huge.

"We're stuck here." She sighed; Syn placed a hand on her shoulder by way of comfort.

"Have you found any others besides Ricochet?" I wondered; Vixen shook her head sorrowfully.

"I've only been online for a few weeks; and his name is Mach Kick." She corrected; I chuckled slightly at that, no wonder I felt I should have recognized him, the only trouble was he looked like a normal horse instead of a blue one like the toy had been.

"Ricochet suits him better." I returned with a tiny smirk; Vixen smiled in turn revealing her sharp teeth, she was definitely going to take a little getting used to in retrospect.

"We should keep an eye out for any survivors." Syn observed; I yawned then and sunk down into bed. Vixen debated on whether or not she should leave; at least I got as much by her expression, it was hard to judge a Maximal up close even when they were quite expressive.

"I think it would be better for me to remain here tonight; I have further questions that must be addressed." She finally stated; I shrugged and turned onto my side so I would be comfortable.

"A wise plan; Ricochet has been waiting patiently for… Well he can wait a little longer." Syn stated with a grin.

"Indeed, besides his size isn't too noticeable." Vixen added; Al had already fallen asleep and as soon as he did he began to toss and turn, Synergy sighed and slid under the covers beside him; Vixen eyed her curiously, Synergy partially embraced her brother.

"He ingested an Energon cube to recharge; he is an organic machine of sorts, Primus tries to contact him at night." She explained; Vixen's eyes widened in surprise, she reverted to beast mode and curled up on the foot of the bed.

"Two is better then one; besides, I think I'm growing fond of this human." She stated her lupine features adopting a smile; Syn smiled as well knowingly.

"Yes, he does seem to exude strong feelings of respect and friendship." She agreed before closing her eyes and listening to the soft sounds of the room. "Even for those who did not attend his class at the Maximal Academy." She added slyly; Vixen laughed.

"I recognized him instantly, but I thought it better to play along; no man should know too much about his own future after all, at least according to one of his favorite movies, which he constantly drilled into us." She returned with a brief shake of her head; and then the Maximal fell asleep at the feet of her former, would one day be, teacher and Syn found herself smiling at the irony of it all; he was right though, temporal mechanics tended to give you a headache.

* * *

I awoke feeling well refreshed; Synergy was next to me yet again, while Vixen was lying at the foot of my bed and her position made me smile. I was semi-used to that feeling because of my holographic Ravage; of course a wolf the size of a cheetah had more weight to it then a holographic Decepticon. Amy woke up groggily and made her way to the bathroom; passing the bed she patted Vixen's head with a dreamy smile and vanished into the bathroom, I grinned and began to count with the fingers of one hand.

"Three, two, one." I stated softly; Amy's screech startled the Maximal and shattered the tranquil expression on Synergy's face.

"Daddy." Amy exclaimed rushing into the room; her pajamas had surprisingly been removed already, she was faster then I thought apparently. Vixen had leapt off the bed and was eyeing the window; the door and the child in rapid succession wondering what to do.

"Relax little one; she's a friend." I intoned in a soft and gentle voice; Amy cocked her head curiously, worriedly, but Vixen did nothing to negate my words.

"Ok Daddy if you say so." She reluctantly accepted before vanishing back into the bathroom.

"Your daughter is not human." Vixen observed slinking over to the corner of the room in case anybody burst the door open; they wouldn't notice her right away from that position.

"She is Catarian; also from another reality, I adopted her." I revealed climbing out of bed; someone began knocking urgently on the door just then.

"Al what's wrong?" Jerrica's voice inquired from behind the door.

"Nothing; just an early morning surprise, there wasn't any hot water when Amy first got in the shower." I called using a little white lie as I dug out the clothing I'd be wearing today.

"Are you sure; Amy seemed a tad frightened." She persisted her tone still full of worry; I sighed and opened the door enough to stick my head out.

"Trust me, it's nothing to be concerning yourself about." I insisted smiling at the woman; she eyed me with practiced resolve, but didn't persist any further.

"Alright; if you say so, but I really don't think the others should know about how Synergy spends her nights." She stated with a wink; I smiled bemusedly.

"What's wrong with early morning visits from my sister?" I wondered before ducking back inside and closing the door.

"This is a busy place." Vixen remarked. "Perhaps remaining here is unwise." She added; the sight of a wolf speaking proper English was clearly unsettling, yet at the same time both fascinating and familiar all at once.

"Please Vixen." Syn spoke up startling me with the extent of the pleading in her tone. "It has been so long; so… Lonely." She admitted averting her gaze; Vixen smiled a lupine smile and bowed her head in understanding.

"It will be difficult making a home here for myself; and there is Ricochet to consider… Not to mention the fate of those other stasis pods." She stated in a tone that seemed indecisive; Synergy approached the wolf and slowly knelt, her eyes sparkling with a strong desire for companionship. "But I'm certain we can make it work." She added; Synergy broke into a grateful smile and hugged the beast, just as Amy slipped out with a towel around her tiny frame.

"Daddy this is…" She trailed off looking at a loss for words; I smiled gently at the girl and moved past her ruffling her hair as I went.

"It's ok; I know exactly how you feel." I stated before closing the bathroom door and tuning out the rest of the world for ten minutes.

* * *

"Today's the last full day we get with you." Terri sighed a little later after everyone was finished breakfast and Al was sitting in the living room with the household wondering exactly what they should do to commemorate this day.

"Well, maybe he can come visit us for a day or something." Ba Nee pointed out hopefully; the young man sighed and shook his head slowly.

"Believe me I'd love to, but I have something I promised to do; and I've laid it aside long enough." He explained by way of apology. "My body and soul are whole once more; it is time…" He trailed off looking out the window as he spoke a flash of determination spreading over his features; Jerrica and the adults eyed him knowingly, but they didn't say a word.

"Does this promise have something to do with super heroes and the X-Men?" Joellen wondered; Al smiled affectionately at the innocence behind the question, and finally decided to admit that he did have something important to do involving such characters.

"Oh yes." He replied with a very hard edge crossing his features briefly. "Not all things can be handled by the Avengers or even the X-Men; sometimes it requires a… Specialist, and I happen to be that specialist, because I oftentimes do things that no one else is ever willing to do, there is a need to maintain balance amongst all things." He stated sounding a little oddly due to the sudden alteration of his vocal patterns. "Good versus evil, yin and yang, balance must be kept in check; if it falls, if it slips beyond the line holding it in check then untold amounts of chaotic energies could be unleashed and if that happens… Well let's just say I don't want to lose the friends I've made here." He finished choosing to not outright mention Roma and the Omniverse, he was feeling a little like sharing, but he wasn't going to say everything after all he still didn't know the full extent of the knowledge that this household possessed due to certain unforeseen developments.

"Wow." Ba Nee exclaimed speaking up for the group. "I hope you're good at keeping this balance." She added; the young man laughed aloud at that his eyes seeming to sparkle.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that; they didn't pick me for the job because of my good looks." He countered with a slight smirk.

"That's true; Daddy has the power." Amy teased nuzzling her father's nose with her own; Al laughed even louder at that if it were possible and offered a slight nod towards his daughter.

"But it's not because of Greyskull." He quipped good naturedly.

"So; what are we going to do today?" Becky wondered turning back to the matter at hand.

"I say we throw a party to honor Al for everything he's done." Lela returned sagely; Ashley shook her head.

"A party isn't good enough; we have to do something really special for him." She said.

"Ah; you don't have to go out of your way for me." He interjected nervously; Kimber shook her head.

"Nonsense; you put aside everything just to please these girls and make their life less dull for two whole weeks, there has to be something we can do in return." She stated confidently; Al looked to his daughter briefly with an uncertain expression.

"Well." He began rubbing the back of his neck in that way they'd come to recognize as being indicative of strong nervousness on his part.

"Yes." Aja urged with a hopeful expression; Al grinned sheepishly as he looked up into the faces of everyone present.

"I have always wanted to go to Disneyland." He reluctantly admitted with a serious expression on his face; the girls eyed him briefly incredulously for a few minutes and then all of them burst out into loud laughter.

"You're joking." Roxy exclaimed; Al shook his head.

"I don't see why we can't all go for the day." Jerrica admitted. "If it's something you've always really wanted to do." She added eyeing Al thoughtfully; he nodded slightly and smiled weakly.

"There's always so many people there and loads of lines." Anne complained; Jerrica shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, it's Al's decision and we accept it." She stated firmly. "Al would you be so kind as to fetch the Starlight Express's keys?" She requested; the young man nodded and calmly got to his feet, though the exuberance in his face betrayed just how much he was feeling about this, in point of fact Al was feeling a tad nostalgic and homesick and there was usually only one thing that really cheered him up.

* * *

The day flew by a lot faster then I would have liked; true Disneyland managed to cheer me up even though we barely got onto any rides thanks to the killer lines, but I had hoped that time would slow down a little while I spent the day with Amy and the Starlighters indulging in one of my personal desires. But before too long we were back at Starlight Mansion preparing for dinner; and I had put off answering Vixen's further questions long enough, so while the others got dinner ready I returned to my room and approached the Maximal.

"So; what more can I tell you?" I asked sitting on the chair and eyeing her directly.

"Do you know how many stasis pods were recovered during the Beast Wars?" She asked; it was always so surreal whenever one of them called it that, mainly because it seemed like obvious product placement from the other end of the t-v.

"Tigatron, Black Arachnia, Airazor, Inferno, Primal's new body, Silverbolt, Quickstrike, Transmutate and Dinobot's clone." I counted off as I spoke. "Seeing as how Protoform X was not likely counted among the regular compliment of pods, and including the three of you that would make twelve in all." I informed; Vixen lowered her head at that with a hint of sorrow.

"Full complement is usually thirty-five actual protoforms, ten empties, which wouldn't have been launched and five sparkless in case of emergencies." She revealed.

"Conclusion; three sparkless unaccounted for and twenty-eight protoforms." I observed seeing the hurt in her eyes I knew how much it must mean to her.

"There have to be other survivors." She exclaimed not willing to give up; I thought upon all the non-show characters, but I couldn't use them as a guide.

"And if any of them wound up with aquatic based beast modes it won't be easy to track them." I pointed out; not wishing to dash her hopes.

"Some of them are bound to have been destroyed; maybe all of them." She murmured; I didn't know how to respond to that… Well except maybe to add…

"There could have been others recovered by Primal." I spoke up. "I only know what was shown on my Earth as supposedly harmless entertainment; there could have been events in this reality I wouldn't be privy to due to changes in the timeline, or other developments I couldn't possibly begin to hypothesize." I admitted; she eyed me hopefully at that, but it was a false hope and she knew it. She slunk over to me and actually hopped into my lap; not an easy feat for a wolf that size, her eyes and more importantly her teeth were right in my face.

"If you have lied to me." She left the threat unspoken and I smiled merrily at her.

"I would have no reason to lie." I returned; she glowered, hopped down and shifted to robot mode. She pulled me to my feet; revealing just how tall she actually was compared to me, it was amazing she didn't scrape the ceiling, her eyes glowed deeply.

"Onyx said you were an organic machine… Show me." She demanded; I blinked.

"Show you?" I repeated uncertainly.

"Show me what you know; what you are, it's the only way I can be absolutely certain… Interface." She demanded popping open a panel on her wrist; I regarded her semi-darkly now.

"Everything or just about the Beast Wars?" I asked her; she regarded me curiously, but then shook her head.

"Beast Wars only; the rest is inconsequential." She returned in a low even tone; I nodded at that and prepared to jack in.

"If you insist." I stated coolly. "But I hope you don't get off on this kind of thing." I added semi in jest; my tendrils sprang forth suddenly before she could react and jacked in, she gasped at the invasiveness and abruptness of my Borg nature. I gave her what she wished; she looked at me so hurt afterwards, mainly because now she knew of the Fuzors and Transmutate.

"Thank you." She whispered after a while of digesting the information; she wrapped me in a hug taking me by surprise, before reverting to beast mode. "I must share this with Ricochet, but I'll be back tonight for Synergy's sake." She informed before leaping through the window; I sighed and slumped into the chair, it had been very hard keeping the rest of me hidden from her, the nanoprobes seemed to like to share.

"Primus let her find some more survivors at least; or their fates." I whispered before heading off to see if my help was needed elsewhere.

* * *

The topics of conversation during dinner proved to be most mundane; the girls kept discussing the past several days adventures, especially their trip to the Ark and the show they'd witnessed concerning the battle between Autobot and Decepticon. Al however really wasn't paying any attention to them; he was too deep in thought considering the fact that he would be departing in the morning after breakfast, Jerrica could see he was upset and decided now was as good a time as any.

"Al; could I ask you for a rather personal favor?" She asked cutting into the deep thinking man's thoughts, he looked up confusedly.

"Er; what?" He asked warily; if they asked him outright about the truth concerning his origins he would have to give in.

"Would you honor me by walking me down the aisle once Rio and I have set our date?" She requested; the room grew deathly silent and Al started choking on the sip of coke he'd taken, his coughing fit grew slightly theatrical in nature until finally he felt confident enough that he could talk straight.

"You want me to give you away at your wedding?" He repeated incredulously; Jerrica nodded happily, Al sat back obviously stunned. "I… I don't know what to say to that." He admitted with a slight frown.

"Oh." Jerrica returned looking slightly disappointed; Al quickly recovered his wits and offered a wide smile.

"No; it's not I don't want to accept, it's just… I'm very confused, why pick me?" He asked curiously; Jerrica averted her gaze slightly uncertain about how he'd react to this little revelation.

"Well; you're the only one I could possibly see doing it, Anthony, Craig even Howard they aren't exactly close enough to me for me to trust them to do something like this, but you… Well there is that incident surrounding my father's diary." She spoke softly careful not to say the true incident regarding Synergy and Emmet Benton's computer program; Al was clearly still taken aback, he offered a genuine smile of understanding.

"Jerrica; I would be honored to give you away at your wedding." He stated gallantly; Jerrica looked back at him with a genuine smile of friendship and gratitude.

"Thank you." She whispered; the Starlight girls, Holograms and former Misfits were all sharing wide smiles, but Amy's was the widest and biggest so proud was she of her father.

"I'd better go start packing." Al mumbled pushing aside his more then half eaten meal and rising from the table. "Good night all I'll see you in the morning before I go." He added with a small wistful smile before taking off.

"Jerrica I'm so proud of you." Kimber exclaimed coming up beside her sister and giving her a big hug. "I think you really made his day." She added in a soft whisper.

"Well; what I said was true." She returned equally soft. "And Syn's probably going to be my bridesmaid." She added with a smile; Kimber nodded and returned to her seat, and dinner returned to relative normalcy.

* * *

"Well; no sense prolonging the inevitable, Q I know you're there, get this regeneration bed back to Xavier's and bring back the original." I called out; a bright flash lit the room briefly and the exchange was done, I nodded, the packing had been relatively quick, when you can levitate everything in zero G it tends to be easy and fast to pack. Amy wasn't in bed yet, but I was just so exhausted; the trip to Disneyland had really taken a lot out of me, considering my child-like demeanor and wonder at being there all day.  
I fell into the room's original bed; and I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow, then of course the dream came again, but this time it was different. I saw six stasis pods floating in the sky above me; two of them flickered and vanished replaced by Vixen and Ricochet, while a third literally seemed to transform into Synergy. The other three flashed ever so briefly; a location… The Savage Land perhaps? A prehistoric beast rose from the fallen pod; it appeared to be either an Ankylosaur or Stegosaur; it was hard to make out due to all the shadows concealing it from complete view.  
Another location this time even briefer, somewhere high up in the Tibetan mountains or the Alps perhaps; and a massive transmetalized ram, whom I recognized as Ramulus from the toy line. And then the final location; deep beneath the waves of the ocean hugging the wreckage of the great ship Titanic, a great white passed briefly and was suddenly attacked by a strangely colored squid who was large enough to devour the usually much larger predator in a quick few bites. Suddenly; a seventh pod exploded into vision, being hurled from the mighty throes of a volcanic eruption. It should not even be intact, but something had protected it; the scanners came online in an undisclosed location and then I saw no more as my mind was bombarded with even stranger yet familiar images pertaining to something I could not see clearly.

* * *

Synergy paused outside Raya's room; she should get to Al's room before the dreams began, but the soft sobbing stayed her. Raya had seemed so forlorn since coming here; and she cried constantly, though Synergy didn't know what comfort she could offer, she had to try.Knocking softly she chose not to wait for a reply and instead let herself in; Raya was in her underwear clutching a tiny teddy bear to her bosom, her pajamas lay forgotten on the side of her bed.

"Synergy." She exclaimed in a soft frightened tone; she wiped her hand over her eyes and adopted a fake smile. "I'm sorry; did I wake you?" She wondered placing the bear aside and grabbing her sleep wear in order to get dressed.

"I don't sleep." Synergy politely reminded. "And besides it's only ten oh clock." She added; Raya laughed sounding as if it were forced and removed her bra. "Raya you've been distant since your return; is there maybe something you want to talk about?" The holographic woman asked as gently as she could; Raya shook her head.

"It's nothing; I'll… Get over it." She replied the slight pause and forced admission indicating that this was clearly not nothing.

"Raya." Synergy began taking a step closer as Raya climbed into bed; she shook out the blanket and tucked herself in tightly.

"No, please… I." She paused to catch her voice; she was on the verge of tears once more. "Good night Syn." She whispered; Rutherford's nickname for her was apparently catching.

"Good night." Synergy returned heading back to the door; just as her hand brushed the knob she felt Raya's eyes upon her, boring into her back with fierce animosity.

"I envy your existence; you can never…" She trailed off and Synergy turned back questioningly. "There is nothing you can experience that compares to my grief. My… Pain." She whispered her tone full of anguish, fury and despair.

"I can not experience what exactly?" Syn questioned sitting on the edge of Raya's bed hoping to help the miserable sounding woman.

"I met a man after I left… You know; classic romance, we wanted to get married… One night though…" Raya trailed off trembling in fear at her opening up; Synergy placed a hand on her knee in comfort, Raya let out a sob. "I was pregnant; it was wonderful, but… The child was still born." She revealed in a halting and hushed tone; Synergy fell back in shock, she knew what that had to mean to Raya, emotionally speaking.

"My God Raya." She gasped; Raya was crying again and Synergy quickly moved closer wrapping the woman in a hug.

"He never looked at me the same way again; it was obvious he blamed me for it… Our relationship fell apart; he… He wouldn't even try to comfort me." She revealed hugging Synergy back desperately needing some form of human contact; Synergy returned the hug with even more force, knowing the woman needed this.

"You should have told us sooner; I'm certain Jerrica and the others would understand." She attempted to soothe; Raya sighed and let herself go even further by resting her head on Synergy's shoulder.

"Maybe, but I… I couldn't, not until I was ready." She admitted her tears began to soak the holographic woman's clothing, but that didn't bother her since she could just change it later; Synergy held Raya knowing she could do little else for the broken woman. "Stay with me please." She requested softly; Synergy was taken aback, but Raya was obviously hurting and Vixen would return soon enough to help Al cope with Primus' misguided attempts at communication.

"Of course I will." She replied rocking the grown woman in her arms; there was going to be a lot of discussions once Raya opened up to the others, but for tonight she could offer some comfort.

* * *

Vixen arrived much later that night and was surprised to find Allan alone tossing about and moaning in his sleep; she chose not to question anyone for now, instead she merely hopped up onto his bed and curled up at the foot of it. He settled almost at once falling into an exhausted, though peaceful slumber; unbroken by dreams.

"You are quite fortunate human." She whispered. "Not even those of my race have ever spoken to Primus; or if they have they've been tight lipped about it." She added before lowering her head and closing her eyes.

* * *

Breakfast that Monday morning was very subdued; everyone knew I was leaving, and they really didn't want it to end. I sighed as I looked about at the sorrowful faces; they were really putting me down, at least Amy wasn't leaving until after I did so I didn't have to watch her go again.

"Look we all knew it couldn't last guys." I reminded; Terri glanced up sadly, that look really dug deep into your very soul. "I have things to do." I pointed out.

"Things; like what?" Ba Nee asked; I slowly took my last bite of the morning repast and shook my head.

"I told you yesterday; the promise I made, I can't just ignore the problem and stay here… I have to fix it." I stated solemnly.

"Yeah; my Daddy does have to work." Amy pointed out reminding the girls of the cover story long established; a cover story I wasn't ready, selfishly, to let go yet.

"Yes I suppose." Anne agreed with a tiny nod and sigh.

"Your promise is really that important huh?" Aja asked; I smiled turning to eye the Asian before sweeping my gaze across the group.

"My boss is quite demanding when it comes to preventing chaos incarnate unleashed." I said softly. "If I ignore my responsibilities just to make you happy I could lose you all; I fail and this planet… This universe is going to be wiped out; maybe even replaced with a darker world under evil control, where the heroes don't win and things like what almost happened to Terri happen every day." I added all serious; Terri shied away slightly from that revelation, Jerrica eyed me with a curious expression on her face.

"Your dad always like that?" Deidre asked turning to Amy; the Catarian giggled and slid her empty plate aside.

"That's nothing; you should see him where he works." She replied with a wide smile.

"The school?" Anne demanded. "What's so hot about a teaching gig?" She blurted; Amy turned to eye the spot where her father had stood, he seemed to have vanished without bothering to finish his little story.

"Can't tell all his secrets for you." She stated with a brief nod of her head. "But what he just said; isn't it obvious?" She asked. "My Daddy saves people." She added in a hushed and deeply proud tone.

"Oh my God!" Lela blurted as if something remarkable had just struck her. "Your dad works for Roma." She exclaimed out loud; the entire room fell silent as all the girls turned to Amy incredulously, the adults looked fearful, if the little girl betrayed her father's trust.

"You know about Roma?" Amy shot back equally disbelieving.

"Yeah; we kinda found out because Kang took us by mistake when he was forcing all the super heroes out of this universe." Ashley explained; Amy burst into a fit of giggles and looked around quickly to make sure her father wasn't around.

"Daddy is going to be so surprised, but please don't tell him yet; wait until he's almost gone and then spring it on him… That way he'll just have to come back in order to find out how you all know." She explained with a mischievous smirk.

"Is that really a good thing?" Delaree wondered. "I mean; isn't that a little mean?"

"Who cares; Al will have to come back then and I want to see him before he leaves this Earth." Ba Nee stated selfishly; the others all nodded sly smiles spreading across their features.

"Let me do it." Jerrica requested. "I owe him a little pay back for all the lying he's been doing since coming here." She added with a tiny gleam in her eye; Amy burst into a fit of giggles and fell out of her chair, but she just kept giggling away seemingly uninjured.

* * *

Everyone showed up after I finished lugging my case out of the room and down to the front hall; Kimber leant in and tried to give me a hand with it, she rethought that idea when she felt how heavy it was.

"What's in this; the kitchen sink?" She asked teasingly; I smiled and let it go floating beside me.

"Really funny." I returned with a role of my eyes; then I pulled her into a big hug. "I think I'm gonna miss you guys more then anybody else." I admitted.

"Yeah; it's not everyday you make friends with a genuine rock band." Aja pointed out with a smile.

"That has nothing to do with it." I shot back with a good natured chuckle.

"You sure seem to mean the world to these girls now." Shana remarked as she moved in and gave me a hug too.

"Probably has something to do with the fact that they've had very few male role models in their lives." I remarked in kind; Shana nodded and made room for both Aja and Roxy to move in and ensnare me in a double hug.

"Thanks." Roxy whispered in one ear; I smiled.

"Think nothin' of it Roxanne." I whispered back modulating my vocals so only she could hear.

"I hope none of the girls want to start learning sword play because of you." Aja spoke up with a light chuckle; I grinned and hugged Stormer next who had nothing to say.

"A shame we didn't get to know each other better." Raya admitted with a slight smile before shaking my hand; I smiled back, yet something was nagging me, everyone was acting a little too cheery for this sort of thing when moments earlier they'd been sad as can be.

"You sure are something else." Clash remarked with a shake of her head; I chuckled once more at that as we hugged.

"And I still think you need a new handle Constance." I returned; she shook her head and blushed slightly, Synergy pulled me into a very tight embrace and brushed her lips over my forehead; I squirmed a little at that.

"Take care of yourself Sis; and our friend Vixen too." I requested with a soft whisper.

"Of course dear Brother." She returned, which left only Jerrica and the girls to say a proper good bye.

"Well." I began awkwardly; Jerrica smiled and simply gave me a big hug. "You'll let me know once you and Rio set that date?" I asked after pulling apart.

"Of course; you're partially the reason why Rio finally proposed I think, and I can't get married without the man who's going to give me away." She replied with a smile; I sighed as I detected the distinctive sounds of the Blackbird landing outside, I hefted my suitcase once more.

"And low destiny comes a knocking." I muttered heading out the door followed by everyone else; the Starlight girls and Amy each gave me a quick hug themselves.

"You'll call us if you can, right?" Ba Nee asked nervously as the ramp lowered and Rogue, Logan, Scott and the Professor appeared at the top waiting for me.

"Sure thing; though I make no promises." I replied looking across all the girls' faces and committing them to memory.

"Come on Kilowatt, we gotta get goin'!" Logan called; Roxy eyed me curiously and I sensed she wanted to ask so I inclined my head her way.

"Kilowatt?" She asked with a smirk.

"Don't ask." I returned rolling my eyes; I tossed Logan my suitcase. "Catch Wolvie." I quipped; he caught it with a growl and stormed up the ramp, sappy good byes were not the Wolverines' style.

"Amy." I called turning back; she rushed up to me and hugged me tight burying her head in my chest.

"I'll see you again Daddy." She said knowingly doing her best not to let on to the greatest joke she'd ever get the chance to play on her father.

"Good journey little one; until we can be together again." I stated with a slight hitch in my throat; Amy almost began to cry then because her father didn't know that she wouldn't be losing any more months.

"You've got the power Daddy." She teased; I burst into a hearty laugh and hugged her one last time, and then took my first step aboard the ramp. "Kick their transistors Daddy." She called out; I chuckled and turned back to face the group, who surprisingly were all still gathered looking strange for some reason.

"They won't know what hit'em." I returned as the ramp began to rise forcing me to hurry further on upwards; Jerrica waved to attract my attention at the last possible instant and I turned back eyeing her inquisitively.

"Oh and Al; next time you see her again, tell Roma hi for us." She called; the entire group gathered outside burst into wild laughter at the look on my face, they had known the entire time… Or had they?

"Wah… How?" I cried just before the ramp fully closed and the Blackbird rose into the sky. "Oh; very clever Jerrica… I'll be back; and then we can share just what we know about each other, and fill in the blanks." I stated to myself amusedly before turning and choosing to ignore this startling revelation so that I could greet Rogue properly.

The End

Epilogue

He smiled as he sensed the return of their quarry to Westchester; now at last the plans they had concocted could be completed, or so he would have thought except there was still one matter that had to be addressed. The Source would have to wait until Cobra and the Decepticons finished with their little toy; oh they wouldn't destroy him before he had the chance, that was obvious he had a nasty habit of surviving. Oh yes; he could be patient, after all what was time to one who was master of Chaos… Well almost; perhaps another session with the Consort was in order, yes, she'd serve him well in their bed today… Just a little more time…

To Be Continued… **Jem and the Holograms are now over, as is Sea of Turmoil, but fear not they shall return in the future; for now keep your eyes peeled for Crisis on Earth 929 Terror Approaches, coming soon to **


	19. Chapter 19 Comprehensive Timeline

**Chrysalis Timeline**

**Earth 929 Year 1992 April 13TH;** Alain Desrochers dates Jennifer McMahon for the first time, Unicron secretly employs an agent of Cobra-La to leave the book detailing Shadow Magic in Jennifers' school locker setting events in motion to ensure the arrival of Earth Primes' Alain Desrochers in the year 2003. _Source: Unwritten Talia & Darkholme Issue Number 1._

**Earth 929 Year 1994 May 27TH; **Jerrica Benton, the Holograms, their Associates, The Misfits and their Associates are mistakenly removed from Earth 929 by Saturnyne the Omniversal Majestrix due to outside interference from Merlyn. Roma chooses to use them for their mission to Earth 1302 in place of the Earth 656 counterparts intended to be used thus granting the assembled cast knowledge of the Omniverse for their future friendships surrounding a young man they currently have no knowledge on.  
Roughly five months later possibly; Unicron ensures that Kang the Conqueror will mistakenly apprehend all those living in Starlight Mansion thus ensuring that the Starlight Girls will also be aware of the Omniverse, the reason for this is still uncertain, but Primus has speculated that the Dark God wished to manipulate Alain's future ties with the Starlight Girls to unspecific ends. _Source Flashback: Crisis on Earth 929 Final Chaos and Unwritten Prelude to Crisis: Kang & The Starlight Girls._

**Earth Prime Year 1995 September 6TH; **Reanne McMahon previous Chosen of God loses the full power of her bloodline and begins to pay great attention to her daughters' boyfriends seeking the next Chosen. _Source: Off-Screen Event Never Written._

**Earth 929 Year 1997 August 10TH; **Jennifer and Alain finally become Talia and Darkholme beginning the process of harvesting Chaos energies in small amounts so as not to be noticed by Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, several classmates of the duo most notably Christine Delisle, Candace Berard, Pamela Noel and Nicole Desroches (No relation) disappear. _Source: Unwritten Talia & Darkholme Issue Number 2._

**Starlight Citadel Timeline Uncertain; **Roma at last discerns the presence of total Chaos brewing on Earth 929 and sends Spider-Girl of Earth 107 to ferret out the source of the growing Chaotic forces threatening to destabilize the Omniversal balance. _Source: Unwritten Talia & Darkholme Issue Number 2 and 3._

**Earth Prime Year 2000 June 20TH; **Alain Desrochers Graduates High School and is faced with a lonely future as he knows nothing of what is expected of him, Reanne begins to despair as the Demons collect more souls to break the Gates of Hell open wide. _Source: Off-Screen Event Never Written._

**Earth 929 Year 2002 July 4TH; **Spider-Girl is enslaved by Shadow King under orders of Darkholme, Wheeljack begins plans to build the Infinity Engine, unseen by all Unicron is pleased at the progress of his pawns. Talia briefly faces the Ghost Rider revealing her presence and her plans indirectly to Mephistopheles, Blade the Vampire Hunter encounters Darkholme during a raid on a nest, and a Pocket Dimension is accidentally destroyed resulting in the unleashing of the Shadow Warg from their long ago banishment, Talia begins to tame them as pets. _Source: Unwritten Talia & Darkholme Issue Number 4 and 5 and 6._

**Earth Prime Year 2003 September 13TH Give or Take; **Alain telephones Jennifer; God ensures the call will be disappointing; the Omniverse becomes common knowledge to Alain Albert-Joseph Desrochers. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess; Of Gods and Women, Part One._

**Starlight Citadel Timeline Uncertain; **Roma enlists the aid of Arachnia AKA Gwen Stacy from Earth 3062; the choice of heroes reflecting ties to Spider-Man is due to manipulations in the Starlight Citadels' systems by Merlyn, Roma's father. Reasons unknown. _Source: Unwritten Talia & Darkholme Issue 6 Epilogue._

**Earth Designation Unrevealed Timeline Unspecified; **Alain Desrochers encounters Xena forcibly, God causes amnesia to ensure her champion shall take his training seriously, Unicron begins actively observing events from afar as his manipulations begin to take hold of the human.  
Taking the name Alumni; Alain journeys with the Warrior Princess and the Battling Bard and begins learning the proper use of the sword, he begins to bulk up and tone his body eliminating the fat. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess; Of Gods and Women, Part One._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 January 3RD; **Arachnia is captured by Talia and Darkholme becoming a sexual plaything for the duo replacing the most likely deceased former missing classmates; Wheeljack perfects the Infinity Engine and begins testing, Time Travelers from a future date and time inadvertently arrive in undocumented encounter between the Fantastic Four and a team claiming to be Salvation, they are led by a woman of unspecified origins and trick Johnny Storm Alias The Human Torch into returning with them to the future. _Source: Unwritten Salvation Issue Numbers Unknown; The Human Torch Saga and Talia & Darkholme Issue Number 7._

**Abbreviation Xena's Earth Timeline Still Unspecified; **Ares and Hera take a vested interest in Alumni; Ares uses a special poison to make communication possible, due to fragmented memories Alumni continues to train uncertain of his origins, but needing the skills to survive Hera convinces Hercules that Alumni is a dangerous threat; other players also become involved as the Heroes are gathered to protect the young man and facilitate his training all engineered by Zeus of course. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess; Of Gods and Women, Part One._

**Coruscant 177 Roughly 15 000 Years before the Foundation of the First Galactic Republic; **Jedi Knight Sarill Contrelle journeying to the planet Mustafar as part of her Jedi Trials is reborn upon ascending to the rank of Jedi Master, an unknown female party giving the name Quinlee is responsible for her newfound immortality, the Force reveals all to Master Sarill. _Source: Unwritten Star Wars Tales of the Jedi Order Story._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 February 23RD; **Techrat is approached by Predacon warrior Waspinator in disguise; Darkholme begins capturing his villainous pawns in preparation of the big push, Mephistopheles appears to the current Ghost Rider warning of dire portent and enlists his services to claim the Eye of Agamotto, the attempt fails though it does force Stephen Strange off of Earth 929 for the remainder of the year leaving a doppelganger under the control of Mephistopheles in his place. _Source: Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929 Ghost Rider Prelude to Crisis and Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929 Chronicles of Waspinator the Twenty-First Century._

**Xena's Earth Timeline Still Unspecified; **Alumni spends time in Athens undergoing intense physical training; Autolycus gets him in trouble with a tribe of Centaurs, but Xena manages to get him out. Unicron is well pleased at the progress of Alumni; fully aware what is to come he begins preparations to start the human on his path to the second unseen Destiny linking Alain to Cybertron forevermore, Past, Present and Future. _Source: Unwritten Tales of Suspense Issue Number 0 Alumni & Autolycus Vs. The Centaurs._

**Coruscant 177 18 Years before Star Wars The Phantom Menace; **Master Contrelle emerges from the planet Mustafar and engages battle with a Sith Lord by the name of Darth Sidious on the planet of Naboo, her attempt to prevent the fall of the Jedi Order fails, she flees into hiding and awaits the time of the Clone Wars vanishing seemingly from existence on the planet Dagobah. _Source: Unwritten Tales of Suspense Issue Number 1 Jedi Vs. Sith._

**Xena's Earth Timeline Still Unspecified; **Alumni journeys with Xena and experiences numerous adventures alongside his two mentors; during the Hind incident Alumni and Velasca are both kidnapped by Tarantulas acting under orders from Unicron, Unicron implants the spark that will become Tarantulas 929 within the flesh body of Alumni, forcibly usurping the young mans' true destiny and sub-planting it with that of a more favorable and necessary fate. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess; Of Gods and Women, Part Two and Prologue to Twisted._

**Faerûn 09 Timeline Uncertain; **Alumni, Velasca and a misplaced Kender spirit by the name of Tasslehoff Burrfoot fail in their quest to lay claim to the Dark Matrix from Cybertron 118 from the hands of the Drow of Menzoberranzan. Alumni's altered personality is forgotten and he is returned to Xena's Earth dismissing his stray memories as a trick of the Gods; within the spark of Tarantulas 929 begins to plot recapturing the flesh form of Alumni to continue his service to a being he has forgotten, obviously Unicron. _Source: Twisted._

**Earth Prime Hell Dimension; **Lucifer begins to prepare the power to breach Hells' Gates and conquer humanity along with the Earth; Time on Earth is no longer in motion however Time in Hell continues to beat faster towards the fated release of all Demonkin, The Secretary chooses to leave these scenes of darkness unseen to those regarding the chronicled history of Alain Albert-Joseph Desrochers of Earth Prime. _Source: Off-Screen Event Never Written._

**Xena's Earth Timeline Still Unspecified; **Alumni travels with Xena further the Ambrosia stolen from Callisto still hidden; he encounters Diana the Pagan Goddess and faces a tribe of Uruk-Hai; led by Damocles, the origins of the Uruk are unknown, Alain becomes Justice for the first time. Suffering a mortal wound he ingests the Ambrosia; the cultivating Spark of Tarantulas 929 uses this chance to resume control of the body assuming Godhood and proclaiming himself God of Chaos, due to fragmented memories Alumni does not recall anything of his mission to Faerûn. Instead he proceeds to wipe out whole villages of innocent souls while Xena, Gabrielle, Iolaus, Hercules and Joxer meet Toley one of Gods special guides; believing Alain's soul to have fragmented into two separate souls due to his amnesia and the fact that Unicron has hidden his machinations thoroughly from the eyes of God and Primus Toley sends his friends into his astral plane to save Alumni/Alain from death.  
In the end Tarantulas 929 is forcibly rejected from Alain's body taking on briefly a corporeal flesh form that is swiftly terminated by Toley's mate; thus Alain is saved and begins to learn more about his First Destiny. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess; Of Gods and Women, Part Two and Xena Warrior Princess & Hercules The Legendary Journeys; God of Chaos._

**Earth 929 Timeframe Unclear; **Unicron reclaims the spark that was Alumni who still has no recollection of the events surrounding its' origins; in fact it still believes itself to be a mortal soul and possesses a human appearance. Agreeing to Unicrons' false assurances Alumni the Spark is reformatted completely and finally turned into the Cybertronian Life Form destined to be; Tarantulas 929, though Tarantulas's memories have been altered so that all vestiges of his past life as a human are erased he completely understands that he has Unique Origins from those of Cybertronian Descent. _Source: Xena Warrior Princess & Hercules The Legendary Journeys; God of Chaos Epilogue._

**Earth Alpha Quadrant 18 Stardate Possibly 49504.3; **Having completed his training on Xena's Earth Alain is sent to the 24TH century and Q; first he must understand the nuances of the technology and survive the harsh wilds of the Delta Quadrant aboard the Starship Voyager, friendships are forged with Megan and Jenny Delaney and Ensign Samantha Wildman. _Source: Star Trek Voyager; Learning Curve; A New Frontier._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 March 15TH; **Darkholme and Talia continue unseen manipulations; Wheeljack and Optimus Prime place the Infinity Engine under SHIELD protection in secret and use deception and subterfuge to prevent the Decepticons from initially discovering the engines' absence, Cobra forces resurrect Serpentor from his death-like stasis and events begin to interconnect due to the presence of the Chaos Bringer. The Power Infinity Gem becomes the property of Reed Richards for a brief time, with it he discovers the Autobots' Infinity Engine has ties to the Infinity Gems though neither seems logically possible considering the origins of the Gems and Engine. _Source: The Transformers Issue Number 85 To Harness Infinity and Crisis on Earth 929 Reed Richards; Prelude to War._

**Earth Alpha Quadrant 18 Stardate 50384.2; **Alain meets Q for the first time; he begins to find his place on Voyager, Q takes on a new identity as Hunis the Trickster and creates the belief in the Draconian race that Al is Sithicus the Destroyer. The Borg become aware of Al's presence on Voyager during the Species 8472 incident and begin preparations for assimilation. _Source: Star Trek Voyager; Learning Curve; A New Frontier and Possibly Star Trek Voyager; Assimilation; Enemy at the Gates._

**Coruscant 177 Approximately 13-15 Years After Events of A New Hope; **Sensing the arrival of Alain is imminent Master Contrelle leaves Mustafar and Discovers Callista on the planet Naboo where she battled Sidious all those long years ago, she begins to re-open the woman fully in the Force. _Source: Unwritten Tales of Suspense Issue 2 Tales of the Jedi._

**Earth Alpha Quadrant 18 Stardate Approximately 51268.4; **The Borg capture Alain and forcibly assimilate him, the process goes awry through unseen developments; some such as Alain himself believe that Q influenced the Assimilation process and as usual the Omnipotent One decides not to correct that assumption taking perverse pleasure in the blame. In truth; due to the fact that the Spider Drone Tarantulas forcibly inserted into Alain back during the whole Twisted affair the Nanoprobes themselves become conflicted as two separate and alien sets of programming intersect and combine on a sub-molecular level re-writing the young human as Unicron intended into a Technorganic Life Form of unique abilities though still possessing the characteristics of the Borg and not the Cybertronians.  
After escaping Alain and the Voyager crew must come to grips with what has happened to him; life becomes further complicated when the Draconians arrive forcing Al to act and tap once again into the powers of Justice reawakening his memories of said power.  
**Stardate 52081.2; **Q frees Omnibus, Callopias and Serenity from incarceration; his Padawan will soon encounter a real Demon and begin to put the pieces of the puzzle that is his life together. _Source: Star Trek Voyager; Assimilation; Enemy at the Gates._ **Author's Notes: So as not to confuse you I will pause here to explain further the entire Assimilation Process I have recently re-created and re-envisioned to further draw ties between Alain and Cybertron. As you have already read Alain as Alumni encountered the Tarantulas of a different reality in Twisted and in order for Alumni to control Velasca this Tarantulas placed a Spider Drone within both of them. At the end of said story Velasca puked up the Spider Drone in a liquid state as she was forcibly bound to the Kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot, but the fate of Alain's Spider Drone was never revealed… This got the Wheels in my head to turning; at one point I had decided that Q really had mucked around with the Assimilation creating the other powers and as you can see whenever we bring that up in the main body of work Q and even his son q constantly play up this fact though in truth Q being a well known master of lies never actually did anything except to awaken the latent Mutant Gene in Alain a dormant Gene that all Earth Prime residents possess unknowingly.  
****The other power, powers I should say; originate from the Assimilation of the Spider Drone; Alain's ability to manipulate and created hard light holograms for brief moments in time is a remnant of the Spider Drones' own onboard holographic communications system, the ability to harness Gravity and to a lesser though extremely finite extent the Magnetic Spectrum is a remnant of the Spider Drones' repulsor field generator, which allows certain advanced Spider Drones the ability to levitate and fly defying gravity as it were, as well as the Spider Drone's magnetic grapplers, which Tarantulas has used in the past and is my interpretation of the little claw-like appendages sometimes seen in the Beast Wars cartoon, I mean they can pick up the pieces of Tarantulas when he gets' blown to smithereens, but some of those pieces looked a little awkward and even impossible to grasp, so I figured the claws must have added magnetic grapplers to facilitate picking up awkward, larger or even smaller pieces. This also explains why Alain's and Amy's Nanoprobes resemble eight-legged arachnids and possess a sort of semi-consciousness of their own at times; since the Spider Drones are Tarantulas' version of Smart Tools or AI units, which assist him in his laboratory experiments and the like it would make sense that at times they would assume control of certain bodily functions for unspecified purposes caused perhaps by mutated or aberrant behavioral programming as a result of the assimilation. The reason why I explain this all to you here dear reader is to facilitate the explanation and also I have no intention of revealing this truth to the characters in the story in any way shape or form; it's the Author's decision after all, so my original intentions now have an underlining perhaps sinister origin concerning the abilities of Technorganic Borg and also ties Alain to Cybertron just that little bit more… Now back to the matter at hand.**

**Earth 929 Year 2003 May 27TH; **Darkholme celebrates his twenty-first birthday and enjoys the fruits of his labors, namely Jennifer and Gwen; Cobra sets in motion project B.A.T Upgrade and sets their sights on acquiring the SHIELD Helicarrier. On Cybertron the war escalates as both Autobot and Decepticon begin deep space exploration for both Energon sources to replenish depleted supplies and lost colonies hoping to bolster their ranks with Cybertronians who had grown tired with the war and left, but are now desperately needed. Ultra Magnus makes contact with the Junkions of planet Junk and discovers faint traces of Cybertronian signatures from distant planet Nebulos; the Silver Surfer returns to being Galactus' Herald when Nova (**Frankie Raye**) is incarcerated on the Shi'ar home world for aiding Thanos in slaughtering eighty billion Kree survivors.  
Unicron begins preparations for the creation of Cyclonus and Scourge; it is also theorized that at this time the Universe Conflict of Cybertron 1300 was first conceived and possibly executed. Johnny Storm; missing for Five months in the Future, or a possible Future Timeline is at last returned by a mysterious young teenager with feline inspired characteristics, he says nothing of what he saw or did or even why he was gone so long. _Source: Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929 Cobra; Prelude to Crisis and The Transformers Issue Number 89-90 Plight of the Junkions and The Silver Surfer Issues Numbered Undecided; Heralds of Galactus and Crisis on Earth 929 Johnny Storm; Prelude to Crisis._

**Earth Alpha Quadrant 18 Stardate 52143.6; **Alain discovers both Serenity and Callopias roughly around this time, Serenity the Goddess attempts to seduce him, Callopias the Demon grows eager to kill him and events rapidly spiral out of control including an incident on the Holodeck until roughly Stardate 53049.2 when Al slays Callopias in combat and begins a torrid affair with Serenity. _Source: Star Trek Voyager; Forbidden Fruit._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 June 10TH; **Chaos has clouded Earth 929 from Roma's sight almost completely; aware she requires a new champion to prevent its' destruction she begins scouring the Omniverse for the perfect hero, preferably a Counterpart to Alain Desrochers 929. Meanwhile Talia at last is fully eclipsed by Unicrons' influence as he takes a personal hand in the events he is manipulating and Megatron finally deduces that Prime has hidden the Infinity Engine amongst the humans of SHIELD. In the small kingdom of Wakanda home to Africa's premier super hero the Black Panther Waspinator, the Predacon from a future time joins forces with T-Challa, Ghost Rider and a repentant Juggernaut to prevent T-Challa's enemies from unearthing remains of the Maximal Transwarp Exploration Craft Axalon and using them against the African heroes kingdom; time seems almost to stand still as though awaiting the coming of Alain Prime. _Source: Unwritten The Transformers Issues Numbered 92-94 (Possibly) Infinity is a Long Time Coming and Chronicles of Waspinator; Waspinator & The Secret Defenders._

**Earth Alpha Quadrant 18 Stardate Unknown; **After several months possibly a year of recuperation following the battle with Callopias, Alain Desrochers meets Amy and winds up adopting her via assimilation to save her life; Amy Chelerise Desrochers changes Al's entire outlook on life. Revealing his secretly crafted Holo-Cons; sentient holographic Decepticons, Al and Voyager repel attacks by the Borg and experience a great many adventures.

**Stardate Approximately 54274.7; **Al is visited by Warren Meers of Earth Hellmouth 400 reminding him that the events of Shattered is rapidly approaching; Al takes Amy to Eternia and is in turn adopted by her family, it is believed by Historians of Al and those around him that Serenity was impregnated close to this Stardate as well. Once returned to Voyager events continue on until fated Stardate 549703.4 when Admiral Janeway of one possible future arrives and leads her younger self into the destined event resulting in Voyager at last coming home to the Alpha Quadrant. Transporting over to the Enterprise Alain gets' his house in order and faces Omnibus at last; the Demon Overlord almost kills him, but he succeeds in destroying the Demons' physical form. _Source: Star Trek Voyager; War Against the Collective and Star Trek The Next Generation; Home and Heartache._

**Starlight Citadel Time Unspecified; **Roma recruits Alain to aid in ending the Crisis on Earth 929; none of the players are ever told how long this Chaotic anomaly has been growing, Al devastated at being torn away from Amy agrees only after Roma promises to reunite them. _Source: Crisis on Earth 929; Of Spiders and Mutants._

**Omniversal Passageway Unknown Moment in Time; **Unicron prevents Omnibus' spiritual essence from following Al to enact revenge, the non-corporeal Demon Overlord begins his search for a realm capable of restoring his physical form and seems to be almost forgotten by the players involved. _Source: Star Trek The Next Generation; Home and Heartache Epilogue._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 June 23RD possibly July 5TH; **Al arrives on Earth 929 in Central Park Early Morning; he encounters Spider-Man in brief after tangling with Electro, and then is inadvertently assaulted by Professor Charles Xavier founder of the X-Men mistaken for Magneto. Under the assumed name Allan Pendragon Rutherford our intrepid hero begins his mission with the X-Men; a guest in their mansion, he is targeted by the Brotherhood under Darkholmes' control, rescues Spider-Girl by killing Shadow King, meets with Spider-Man again to help Spider-Girl, briefly encounters Lawyer Matt Murdoch and is stopped by the Brotherhood a second time along with Curt Connors AKA The Lizard before he can meet Doctor Strange. All on Earth 929 remain unaware that the current Doctor Strange is a facsimile and the real Stephen Strange is currently trapped in the Dark Dimension battling minions of Dormammu. _Source: Crisis on Earth 929 Of Spiders' and Mutants and Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929 Doctor Strange Title Undecided._

**Coruscant 177 25-30 Years After A New Hope; **Master Contrelle and Callista rescue Lusa from a Vornskyr attack as the Yuuzhan Vong invasion grows into a truly epic development, Chewbacca and Anakin Solo lose their lives during the mounting war. _Source: Star Wars The New Jedi Order series of Novels/E-Novels and Tales of Suspense Issue Number 3 Vornskyr Attack._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 Exact Date Undetermined; **Alain is targeted by the Red Skull and an army of B.A.Ts' stolen from Cobra under the influence of Darkholme; the X-Men, Avengers and others put a stop to the attack on Manhattan and Westchester, Al kills the Red Skull be beheading him with his Lightsaber. Invited to an evening affair by Tony Stark Al and Rogue begin to slowly discover their mutual attraction for one another is more then just hormones, Wilson Fisk, Norman Osborn and Peter Parker are notable characters of Earth 929 also present at the unveiling.  
Venom and Carnage both attack due to Darkholme once again influencing events; Al, Spider-Man and Iron-Man fend them off, days later a team of X-Men, Spider-Man and Spider-Girl face them on the Brooklyn Bridge. Venom flees after Cletus Kasady is killed and the Carnage symbiote captured, Cobra owes Al a debt due to events surrounding Red Skull; Al enlists their aid at this point in time in finding answers to this entire mess.  
Eric Raymond sells out Gabor Oil to the Decepticons as Misfits' Music closes due to Bankruptcy; Al leaves New York and winds up in Los Angeles at Starlight Mansion, Jerrica and the others take him in, during his stay he meets Ricochet, Vixen and Synergy three Maximals from the Axalon as it turns out. Kills Spectro, Spyglass and Viewfinder with help from Cyclops and Jean, begins actively interacting with the Autobots, thwarts a kidnapping attempt, brokers deals with Cobra, the Autobots and Q, visits with Amy, helps young Nancy Cates deal with her mutation and takes the next step in his relationship with Rogue.  
Following major events surrounding Cobra, GIJoe the Transformers and their God Primus the Crisis of Earth 929 begins to reach the boiling point; Darkholme is ousted after pitting the Brotherhood against the Sinister Six; meanwhile Unicron and Tarantulas take the souls of the humans Cletus Kasady, Serpentor and the Red Skull AKA Johann Schmidt and once purging all traces of their past lives has been accomplished, Unicron uses said souls all of whom were directly or indirectly killed in their mortal life by Al to reformat and create the sparks of the Predacons Cicadacon, Seaclamp and Ramhorn; destined to become the Tripredacus Council and a future thorn in Rutherfords' side. _Source: Crisis on Earth 929: Avengers' Assemble and Crisis on Earth 929: Rampage in NYC and Crisis on Earth 929: Sea of Turmoil and Crisis on Earth 929: Terror Approaches and Crisis on Earth 929: More Than Meets the Eye._

**Earth X-1007 Circa 1942; **Warren Meers; having been forgotten by all journeys to this point in time of Earth X-1007 after engineering the deaths of numerous heroes including Superman and Batman, his goal is to enslave an army of heroines to conquer the Omniverse, but in truth Q is manipulating him to create a future team of Super Villains to face off against Alain and a future team of Super Heroes the young man will lead in service of Roma called Salvation, Warren's first target for slave training is Wonder Woman at a time when she is young and inexperienced… Harbinger; a new Demonic threat is also born due to Warren's incompetence and the beginnings of a truly dangerous team of adversaries is set in motion. _Source: Untitled Primarily Adult Story featuring Wonder Woman and Warren AKA Zeus._

**Earth 929 Year 2003 Month of August leading possibly into September; **Alain faces a plethora of events and villains as the Final Chaos draws nigh, The Sinister Six, Cobra, Darkholme, the Decepticons, the Green Goblin and others become embroiled in the massive up-surgence of mounting Chaos until at last, after killing his Earth 929 counterpart and facing down a Decepticon threat of spectacular origins Al engages in battle with Talia… Many casualties occur, but in the end Chaos is averted and the Infinity Engine destroyed; forced to leave Rogue and Amy behind Al moves on to conclude his training and hopefully return to Earth Prime at last.  
Other events entangled within this time include a brief encounter between Spider-Man, Spider-Girl and the Green Goblin, a battle with the Decepticons involving the Dinobots, and the mystical confrontation between Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, Dormammu, Mephistopheles and the Doctor Strange Doppelganger all within the Dark Dimension. The Fantastic Four are also believed to have been taken out of the game due to a development in the Negative Zone, but remains unconfirmed. _Source: Crisis on Earth 929: Final Chaos and Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929: Spider-Girl Laugh of the Goblin and Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929: Doctor Strange Untitled Tale and Unwritten Crisis on Earth 929: Coda._

**Coruscant 177 25-30 Years After A New Hope; **Al arrives on Mon Cal and briefly interacts with the Solos' and Skywalkers' before Master Contrelle, Callista and Lusa arrive to take him to Mustafar; whereupon he completes his training, masters Justice and… _Source: Star Wars The New Jedi Order: Perspective and Star Wars The New Jedi Order: Potential._

**Earth Prime Year 2003 September 13TH; **Alain Albert-Joseph Desrochers returns home and begins remodeling his bedroom; Master Contrelle has accompanied him and the Force is no longer a part of her as she begins a new life on Earth Prime, in Hell Lucifer feels his presence, Jen and Christine talk briefly on the phone and Reanne prays for divine intervention. Meanwhile The Secretary has a special meeting with two individuals; Kal-El of a different Earth-Prime and Dawn Summers of Earth Hellmouth 75, the purpose of this meeting with Dawn Summers is never revealed. Other parties also briefly show interest in young Alain of Earth-Prime among them The Doctor, Daniel Jackson of SG-1 and Mxyzptlx. _Source: Star Wars The New Jedi Order: Potential and Interlude._

**Earth Hellmouth 36 Timeframe Uncertain; **Omnibus's spiritual essence escapes the Omniverse passageways and begins to amass mystical energy to return; Alain is sent to aid the Slayer in stopping Omnibus once and for all, events must happen quickly for Earth Prime is soon to be in dire need of Alain its' Chosen Champion. _Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Meets Sithicus._

**Earth Prime Year 2003 September 14TH; **Jennifer converses with Christine her best friend because of the phone call to Alain; q bears witness to this moment and amuses himself with the thought of the two coming together at last. _Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Meets Sithicus Interlude._

**Earth X-1007 Circa 2005;** Warren targets his next victims Kara Zor-El Alias Supergirl and Kara Zor-L Alias Power Girl to continue enslaving his army. _Source: Unwritten/Untitled Primary Adult Oriented Story Featuring Warren._

**Earth Hellmouth 36 Timeline Uncertain; **With Omnibus now destroyed completely and no longer a threat; Alain is approached by Whistler in order to assist the Powers that Be in restoring the Balance destroyed by Omnibus' unwitting presence on this version of Buffy's world. In order to accomplish this task; Alain must resurrect Tara McClay using Federation technology and drugs proven to work on others in the past and also recruit the long absent Scooby Oz the Reluctant Werewolf as it were to aid him in the city of Tokyo, Japan. It is revealed by the Sensei of the Light Dojo that ancient spirits once walked the Earth long ago; these spirits not destined to return until after the Slayer managed to defeat the First Evil and seal Sunnydale's Hellmouth manage to escape thanks to Omnibus and set into motion the rise once again of the Elementals.  
Al must convince a young Chinese girl by the name of Mei Lin that she is the Chosen One; destined to lead a team of four young women against the forces of the Spirits themselves, with the aid of Oz and Tara he must find a way to rewrite what Fate truly has in store for all. _Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dark Alliances and Partially Buffy the Vampire Slayer Inherent Evil._

**Earth 929 Year 2004 April 28TH; **Amy Chelerise Rutherford holds a training session with Professor Charles Xavier in order to expand her telepathic skills. _Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dark Alliances Interlude._

**Limbo Timeline Uncertain: Possible Future Events Revealed; **The Dark God Unicron holds a brief conference with Mega Zarak discussing events not yet part of the official Timeline; Mega Zarak informs his Master that Nemesis Prime has managed to procure the Dark Matrix on Eternia thanks to the unwitting assistance of young Alain Desrochers. Unicron leaves to harness the powers of Chaos being unleashed during the Autobot/Decepticon Conflict on Cybertron 5089 in order to restore his Planetary Body while trapped in a smaller form; The Universe Conflict is mentioned in brief, the reasons for this upset in the Timeline are uncertain, but information regarding the events surrounding Alain on Eternia and dealing with Nemesis Prime are most definitely intended to be a Future event as of yet Unchronicled by The Secretary. It is possible Uatu the Watcher parted the veils of Time and Space in order to gain further understanding on the Chaos Bringers interest in the Young Man from Earth Prime. _Source: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dark Alliances Interlude._

**More as Follows I trust this has helped straighten out every aspect of the Chrysalis story featuring Alain Desrochers; Anything that is Unwritten will take some time for me to get around to if I write them myself I may enlist the aid of fellow Fanfic Authors who know characters like Ghost Rider, The Silver Surer and all that way better then me.**


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